Senate bill seeks fee, steps up inspections on food imports

Senate bill seeks fee, steps up inspections on food imports A bill introduced by Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, R-Ill., Thursday would impose a fee of up to $20 on imported food shipments and help raise the ability of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to more efficiently inspect inbound food products.
   “One of the biggest obstacles FDA faces in the struggle to ensure food safety is the lack of funding they need to get the job done right,” Durbin said in the statement.
   “While the volume of imports has nearly doubled over the last three years, the number of FDA inspectors has been steadily decreasing,” he said. “Meanwhile, 76 million Americans are getting sick each year from food-borne illness. The system needs to be fixed immediately.”
   According to a news report in today’s Washington Post, the FDA could collect more than $200 million a year in fees from food imports, if the bill is passed at the maximum amount.
   Durbin’s bill requires a portion of the money generated from the fees to be used for research on testing technologies and methods to accurately detect the presence of pervasive contaminants such as E. coli and listeria.
   The legislation would also require overseas firms and governments to apply for FDA certification. Only those firms and governments that meet the FDA’s standards would be eligible to ship their food products to the country.
   The certification process, under Durbin’s bill, would require overseas food shippers and governments to essentially match U.S. standards for food safety, inspection, labeling and consumer protection and agree to allow regulators to inspect their facilities. These regulators would have the authority to pull certifications if companies or countries fail to comply and detain products that do not meet U.S. standards.
   Capitol Hill has been eyeing ways to boost FDA’s oversight of food imports since the recent dog and cat deaths that resulted from contaminated pet food ingredients from China and public concerns over other ill-made consumer product imports.