June 18, 2009

Bill Boosting FDA Oversight Of Food Wins Panel Approval

The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday approved legislation that would give the Food and Drug Administration significantly more funding and power to police food safety.

The bill comes in response to deadly outbreaks of illnesses traced to tainted spinach, peanuts, hot peppers and other foods. It is designed to plug holes in the regulation of most food items other than meat.

The FDA has been under fire for its inability to prevent food-poisoning cases, quickly trace them to their source or find the causes.

The legislation would give the FDA authority to order food recalls, impose new civil penalties and require companies to follow food-safety standards. It also would require the agency to inspect so-called high-risk food facilities at least once a year and make companies keep detailed records to help the FDA more quickly trace the distribution of tainted foods and track the course of the contamination. Wall Street Journal

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