Food Safety Reform Takes Solid Step Forward

Washington, D.C. – As a long-time proponent of reforming the nation's food safety system, Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3), chairwoman of the Agriculture – Food and Drug Administration Appropriations Subcommittee, spoke on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in support of the Food Safety Enhancement Act (H.R. 2749). The legislation gives the FDA the authority and resources it needs to prevent food-borne illnesses from occurring and the tools to respond if they do. It also increases the food industry's responsibility for overseeing the safety of their own products and provides the FDA with new and enhanced tools to hold them accountable when they fail.

The legislation incorporates many of the provisions DeLauro has pressed for, including moving the FDA to a risk-based inspection system with the agency inspecting the highest-risk facilities more often, enhanced reporting requirements for companies and the establishment of performance standards for fighting food-based pathogens.

However, given the decades of neglect for the agency in general and food safety in particular, further food safety reforms are needed. DeLauro will continue to press for structural changes to the system – splitting the FDA into two separate agencies, with one responsible for food safety and the other responsible for regulation of drugs and devices and tobacco.

Below is the text of DeLauro's floor remarks [as prepared for delivery].

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill. I believe it to be a good first step towards a goal of crucial importance – upgrading our food safety system for the needs of the 21st century. Thank you to Congressmen John Dingell and Henry Waxman for all their hard work in getting this bill to the floor.

Not all the dangers that threaten the health and safety of American families can be found in airports, border checkpoints, or harbor containers. Sometimes, they lurk in our fridges and on our kitchen tables. And yet, for too long, the cornerstone of our food safety system – the FDA – has had only ancient tools and an outdated mandate at its disposal.

This bill begins the long task of rectifying this oversight. It gives the FDA the means to deal with dangers posed by a global food system, and enhances the agency's ability to stem microbial illnesses and prevent contamination before it happens.

This bill incorporates key provisions from legislation I introduced. It moves the FDA to a risk-based inspection system, and requires the agency to inspect the highest-risk facilities once every six months to a year, rather than once a decade as has been the rule since 1938. In addition, the bill enhances reporting requirements for companies and establishes performance standards for fighting food-based pathogens.

Performance standards form the backbone for monitoring the effectiveness of process-control systems and identifying the foods at greatest risk. As such, I would urge FDA to develop testing protocols for each performance standard that it sets. These would include on-going industry testing programs, supported by periodic sampling by the FDA.

This is a good start, but there is more work to be done. I strongly believe that the best way to protect the public health and keep our food free of contagion is to streamline the FDA into two separate agencies within HHS, so that food and drug safety both get the full and comprehensive attention they deserve. But, for now, this bill is a solid first step in creating a comprehensive farm-to-fork safety system that can protect American families from the many dangers of contaminated food. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.