Food safety bill change riles produce industry

Food safety bill change riles produce industry    The U.S. Senate on Wednesday invoked cloture to move forward with debate on proposed legislation to improve the nation's food safety, but has added a provision that worries the produce industry.
   During the debate, the Senate will consider a provision to the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) that would exempt certain segments of the food industry, including food facilities and farm operations, from requirements for basic food safety standards.
   'Unfortunately, the Senate may undermine this effort by including language in the final bill that would exempt certain sectors of the food industry based on geographic location, size of operation and to whom they sell their food products,' said Robert Guenther, senior vice president of public policy for the United Fresh Produce Association, in a statement.
   'Supporters of this effort have portrayed these exemptions as protecting small businesses, that locally grown commodities are somehow safer, or that federal government standards are not adequate. Nothing could be further from the truth,' he said.
   The fresh produce industry has strongly support modernization of federal food safety laws and has supported legislation both in the House and Senate for the last several years along these lines.
   'The fact remains that when a food safety incident occurs, farmers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers, regardless of size, suffer significant economic hardships. Most importantly, the vast majority of businesses who suffer this economic hardship have nothing to do with any single food safety incident,' Guenther said.
   He added, 'Consumers will be left vulnerable to the gaping holes and uneven application of the law created by these exemptions. An effective food safety program in the U.S. is a shared responsibility of everyone.'
   The cloture motion was passed on a vote of 74-25. The Senate will now move forward with up to 30 hours of debate on this bill before coming up for final passage. ' Chris Gillis