The Food and Drug Administration for the first time can order the recall of tainted foods and will soon be in a position to undertake regular inspections of food processing plants.
These and other provisions were enacted by Congress with broad bipartisan support last month, and the Food Safety Act was signed Tuesday by the president.
Giving the FDA the ability to inspect more thoroughly and the authority to order dangerous foods off the shelves is simple common sense. Although several House Republicans have complained that it is too expensive, the costs of contaminated food are surely greater than the law’s $1.4 billion cost. The federal Centers for Disease Control estimates that 48 million people ”“ one in six Americans ”“ are sickened by food-borne illness every year.
The agency can now focus on preventing such outbreaks, rather than containing the damage. Food processors will be required to register with the FDA and produce detailed food safety plans. Agricultural standards will be developed to ensure the safety of fresh produce. The bill also sets stricter standards for imported foods.
The bill exempts small farms, bakeries and food shops to protect the growing market for local foods. It does not apply to meat and poultry, which are regulated by the Agriculture Department.
This legislation was widely supported in the food industry, where big producers see the FDA’s seal of approval as good for business. If the provisions of the law had been in effect earlier, the illness and expense from tainted peanuts, lettuce, spinach, eggs and many other commonplace foods could have been avoided.
The complexities of modern agriculture create many more opportunities for contamination than existed a generation ago. Processed foods are formulated from ingredients from many suppliers, and may have gone through processing in more than one mill. Today’s distribution systems have carried tainted vegetables far and wide before alarms were sounded.
It’s understandable that newly elected Republicans are looking for ways to flex their muscles and cut costs. This will be a recurring theme in the year ahead.
But ensuring food safety was a bipartisan priority in the previous Congress, and it would be a mistake to curtail this effort before it has even begun.
Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Nick Cowenhoven at nickc@journaltribune.com.
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