Dick Durbin

With Congress set to tackle financial reform, the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act, an attempt to overhaul the nation’s food-safety system after recent outbreaks of E. coli, Salmonella, and other pathogens, has once again been pushed down the legislative agenda.

In amending the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938, the Modernization Act would increase the FDA’s ability to monitor the nation’s food supply and to take stronger action when safety issues arise.

Specifically, the act authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to suspend the registration of food facilities, assess and collect fees related to recalls and reinspections, and order immediate recalls of tainted food—a power the industry has long called for. It also empowers the Secretary to track and trace raw agricultural commodities and increases regulation of foreign imports.

The restaurant industry largely favors the bill, as restaurants often shoulder much of the blame and bad publicity when outbreaks do occur.

A bill similar to the Modernization Act passed the House last year on July 30, with President Obama calling it a “major step forward in modernizing our food-safety system.” Forward progress came to a halt in the Senate, however, when the battle over health-care reform took over Capitol Hill.Read more