Late Last year President Obama made it his personal goal to ensure that the food that will hit the tables all across America will do so in a safer way than it has been in recent years. The House of Representatives have already approved a bill that would make sweeping improvements mandatory in the food preparation and handling facilities in the country. The bill is currently being debated in the Senate and if it passes it will change the way that food is handled forever.
The Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, which handles all aspects of food safety with the exception to meet and poultry, has lent its support to the President’s and the House’s plan of attack but they have also raised some concerns.
From the perspective of the FDA there are three questions that they feel needed to be better answered in relation to the new proposed food safety legislation. The questions follow:
1. Will the new safety legislation be based on prevention?
The FDA feels that the legislation does indeed show a huge response to how outbreaks will be dealt with. Companies that are responsible for such outbreaks will be held responsible for distributing the bad food that was under their control. The problem may be with the implementation of the process. The FDA is currently working with the USDA and others within the food industry in an attempt to transition smoothly to the policies that would be placed into effect.
2. Will the new legislation allow for the FDA to have legal tools that match or better their existing tools?
With these changes in place the FDA would then be responsible to oversee the implementation of the new measures to hundreds of thousands of companies on top of its current responsibility to deal with the public during times of outbreak. In order to be able to succeed in the new role of increased capacity, the FDA will need to have new legal authorities in order to do what is in the best interest of the public. As it currently stands food brokers and food importers are not required by law to register with the FDA which could lead to a cataclysmic event with the new rules that would take place. The FDA is concerned, and rightly so, that their authority may not get extended enough to effectively implement the changes that the Government is proposing.
3. What will the FDA do about the need for further resources?
One of the biggest changes in the legislation will be the mandatory and frequent inspections that will need to be conducted by the FDA. This along with the extra man power that will be needed to oversee the changes taking place all add up to a need for increased revenues. If the Government does not issue more funds to be used by the FDA then the changes and proposed legislation stand a chance of going off with more than a hitch or two.
The FDA has certainly raises some legitimate concerns and though the sweeping changes in food safety are indeed needed in this Country, if they are to go through hopefully the Government will give the FDA all the resources and power it needs to effectively transition all the companies that handle America’s food. The FDA remains committed to continue its work with Congress as well
Written by Mb
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