Download Locations

• Open CRS (User submitted)
• National Agricultural Law Center
• U.S. Department of State

Summary

A series of widely publicized food safety problems, including concerns about adulterated pet food ingredients and farmed seafood from China, foodborne illness outbreaks linked to the bacterium E. coli O157:H7 on leafy produce from California, and a national recall of peanut butter due to Salmonella contamination, have made food safety a top issue for a number of lawmakers in the 110th Congress. Several Members have introduced bills to alter the current U.S. food safety system and/or increase spending, which they assert is needed to meet current obligations to protect consumers from unsafe food. This report describes a number of these measures. Reorganization of Food Safety Responsibilities. The Government Accountability Office has concluded that the current federal safety system should be fundamentally re-examined because it is fragmented and inefficient, threatening food safety. H.R. 1148 and S. 654 would consolidate federal food safety responsibilities under a new, independent Food Safety Administration. Food Import Oversight. U.S. food imports have increased significantly in recent years, raising questions about whether U.S. safeguards, which generally were created at a time when most Americans obtained their foods domestically, sufficiently protect public health. H.R. 2997 and S. 1776 would require foreign countries and establishments to receive U.S. certifications before importing into the United States, and charge fees on food imports to cover oversight costs. H.R. 1148, S. 654, H.R. 2108, and S. 1274 also contain import pre-certification requirements. H.R. 3100 and S. 1082 include other provisions to bolster food import safety. Notification and Recall Authority; Traceability. Generally, neither the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) nor USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has explicit statutory authority to order a recall of adulterated foods, to require a company to notify them when it has distributed such foods, or to impose penalties if recall requirements are violated. H.R. 2108/S. 1274, Title VI of S. 1082, and S. 1148/S. 654 contain various provisions for mandatory recall authority and/or notification requirements when adulterated foods are suspected to be in commerce. S. 1292 would require USDA to establish a meat and poultry traceability system. State-Inspected Meat and Poultry. Federal law prohibits state-inspected meat and poultry from being shipped across state lines, a ban that many states and small plants want to overturn. Bills seeking to allow such shipments include H.R. 2315/S. 1150, H.R. 1760, S. 1149, and H.R. 2419 (Section 11103). Other food-safety related measures include H.R. 962/S. 549, to curtail the nonmedical use of antibiotics in animal feeds; H.R. 992/S. 414 and H.R. 1396/S. 536, addressing the labeling of products from cloned animals; H.R. 912 and S. 1082 (Section 604), encouraging produce safety; and H.R. 3161 and S. 1859, which provide FY2008 appropriations for FDA and FSIS food safety activities. Also, the House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman in August 2007 was circulating for discussion a wide-ranging food safety bill covering but not limited to imports.

Related Legislation:
• H.R.1148
• S.654
• H.R.2997
• S.1776
• H.R.2108
• S.1274
• H.R.3100
• S.1082
• S.1148
• S.1292
• H.R.2315
• S.1150
• H.R.1760
• S.1149
• H.R.2419
• H.R.962
• S.549
• H.R.992
• S.414
• H.R.1396
• S.536
• H.R.912
• H.R.3161
• S.1859

XML