Details on the Food Safety Bill (Law)
A few of you asked for more information yesterday regarding the Food Safety Bill the President will be signing into law today. You ask, I deliver! So, here you go.
The law gives the Food and Drug Administration new powers to inspect plants where food is processed. The FDA also gets new powers to issue mandatory recalls, instead of relying on food companies themselves to issue recalls when there's an outbreak of contamination or a problem with food. Food producers will now be required to submit detailed food safety plans to the FDA.
So, today the bill becomes a law. But, it will also face a new problem: Being implemented. Implementing new laws costs money - a lot of it. And this Food Safety Modernization Act comes with a price tag of $1.4 billion over the next five years.
The GOP is taking over the House. They rode in on a tide of anti-government spending and you can bet some of these Congressmen about to take over committee chairmanships will be looking for places to cut spending.
This particular bill could have issues because Rep. Jack Kingston,R-Ga., the front-runner to chair the House Appropriations subcommittee (read: they handle the money for the FDA) is not a big fan. His spokesman has been quoted saying the food system is already 99.99 safe.
The Centers for Disease Control says food-borne illnesses make one in six Americans sick each year and 3,000 die.
