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Food Safety Bill Passes Senate By Unanimous Consent
12/19/10 11:12 PM
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/19/food-safety-bill-passes-_n_798884.html

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Sunday passed a sweeping bill to make food safer, 
sending it to the House in the waning days of Congress.

It was the second time the Senate passed the bill, which would give the 
government broad new powers to increase inspections of food processing 
facilities and force companies to recall tainted food. The chamber passed the 
bill for the first time three weeks ago, but it was caught in a 
constitutional snag when senators mistakenly included tax provisions that are 
by law supposed to originate in the House.

The version of the legislation passed by the Senate on Sunday is amended to 
avoid another such mishap.

The bill would place stricter standards on imported foods and require larger 
producers to follow tougher rules for keeping food safe. The legislation has 
enjoyed bipartisan support, and supporters say passage is crucial in the wake 
of E. coli and salmonella outbreaks in peanuts, eggs and produce.

Recent domestic outbreaks of E. coli and salmonella have exposed a lack of 
resources and authority at the Food and Drug Administration as the embattled 
agency struggled to contain and trace the contaminated products. The agency 
rarely inspects many food facilities and farms, visiting some every decade or 
so and others not at all.

The bill would emphasize prevention so the agency could try to stop outbreaks 
before they begin. Farmers and food processors would have to tell the FDA how 
they are working to keep their food safe at different stages of production.

The House originally tried to rectify the Senate mistake by including the 
legislation in a year-end budget bill. Senators also included food safety in 
their version of the budget bill, but the spending legislation hit a 
roadblock when Republicans insisted it not include any add-ons.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., resurrected the bill – which many 
thought was dead as Congress rushes to wrap up for the year – by passing it 
and sending it to the House as a standalone measure Sunday. He said the bill 
is necessary because the food safety system has not been updated in almost a 
century.