U.S. House Passes Food Safety Enhancement Act

WASHINGTON – Pushing forward to pass numerous bills before the summer recess, the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Food Safety Enhancement Act with a vote of 283 to 142.

The act was a response to recent public food diseases and poisons of salmonella, E. coli and melamine in peanuts, spinach and milk products that are monitored by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Those outbreaks cost restaurants considerable money as consumers ate out less.

The act requires an increase in inspections of the highest-risk facilities to once every six to twelve months. It grants the FDA new authority to subpoena records where possible regulatory violations are suspected.

United Fresh Produce Association, one of the largest lobbying groups for the produce industry, stated that the organization was largely supportive of the bill. But in a press release, the trade association said, “There are still important issues that we will address with the Senate as it begins its work on food safety legislation later this year.”

It did not elaborate on what those important issues are that the just-passed House bill falls short.

The National Restaurant Association, a trade group representing over 900,000 restaurants, also has been supportive of the bill. But it also has some reservations. A few hours ago, it declared, “While we believe that the Food Safety Enhancement Act is a good step toward achieving that goal, we are still encouraging improvements to be made to the final legislation. We look forward to furthering our work with Congress as legislation moves through the process."