Pallone′s Food Safety Measure Advances

CONGRESSMAN FRANK PALLONE, JR.
June 10, 2009

Pallone′s Food Safety Measure Advances
Sub-Committee Sends Consumer Protection Bill To Full Committee

Washington D.C. -  U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone′s long-fought effort to keep contaminants out of the food supply gained significant congressional momentum on Wednesday with the approval by a key subcommittee of Pallone′s Food Safety and Enhancement Act. A decade-long advocate of enhanced safety standards, Pallone said the growth and complexity of a distribution system that sends food from farms to dinner tables makes the need for protective measures more important than ever.
 
In the past two years alone, the food industry has been seriously scarred by the poisonous spread of E. coli, Salmonella and melamine in mainstay items of the food supply, outbreaks that caused widespread illness and deaths. During a public hearing last week, Pallone heard about a three-year-old who suffered kidney failure from contaminated spinach.
 
"We must do much more to improve the food safety system, said Pallone. "All too often it breaks down or comes up short, exposing consumers to illness and even death. We have the ability to prevent contamination, this bill will provide the resources and the standards to get the job done."
 
The initiative would emphasize prevention and make producers more responsible to keep food clean at the source , Pallone noted.  
 
The plan would create an updated registry of food facilities, require safety plans, add food inspectors, increase inspections and dramatically improve "traceability," allowing for the quick identification of the source of any contamination. It would also bring more accountability and oversight to imported foods that often originate in countries with less stringent standards.        
 
 Restoring public confidence in the safety of food serves the interests of the food industry, Pallone said. An episode of contamination can cripple all uses of the product, even for those with no responsibility and no connection to the outbreak.
 
The legislation is largely based on the food provisions of H.R. 759, the Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act of 2009, introduced in January by Reps. Dingell, Stupak, and Pallone.  The Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 incorporates assistance from the new Administration as well as other stakeholders.
 
The bill was approved by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health.