Obama to sign food safety bill

Obama to sign food safety bill    President Obama is expected to sign legislation today that promises a $1.4 billion overhaul of the country’s food safety program.
   The administration’s food and drug safety chief Margaret Hamburg noted in a Monday statement posted on the White House Blog that the Food and Drug Administration will for the first time have a congressional mandate for ‘risk-based’ inspection of food processing facilities. All designated high-risk domestic facilities must be inspected within five years by the agency and no less than then every three years thereafter.
   Importers will be required to verify the safety of food imports from their suppliers and the FDA will have authority to block foods from facilities or countries that refuse U.S. inspection.
   Hamburg said the FDA will work closely with overseas governments to increase its inspection abilities. ‘FDA’s new import tool kit will have a huge impact on food safety given that an estimated 15 percent of the U.S. food supply is imported, including 60 percent of fresh fruits and vegetables and 80 percent of seafood,’ she said.
   ‘We are hard at work planning how we will put this law into effect,’ Hamburg said. ‘Already we know that the legislation did not include sufficient fee resources to cover the costs of the new requirements. In that, we will look to Congress to work with us to ensure that FDA has what’s needed to achieve our shared food safety and food defense goals.’
   The legislation passed the Senate on Nov. 30, followed by the House on Dec. 21.
   The industry, led largely by trade groups United Fresh Produce Association and Produce Marketing Association, have generally endorsed legislative mandates to improve the nation’s food safety, especially after highly publicized food-borne disease outbreaks involving eggs, lettuce, spinach, cookie dough and peanut products.
   Some of the legislation’s reforms include:
   ‘ Requirements for written food safety plans.
   ‘ A broad view that addresses both U.S. and non-U.S. product.
   ‘ Mandatory recall authority for the FDA.
   ‘ Commodity-specific protocols for fresh produce.
   The produce industry, however, remains concerned about regulatory exemptions added to the legislation for small farms and retailers.