Senate passes food-safety legislation -

Senate passes food-safety legislation - latimes.com

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UPDATE: The bill, with language that is substantially different from its original version, passed the Senate on Tuesday morning by a vote of 73 to 25. 

See how  senate members voted
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=2&vote=00257
The legislation—the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510)—was intended to get the FDA to crack down on unsafe foods before they harm people rather than after outbreaks occur. This was especially controversial because of a number of provisions that would have created a litany of unintended regulatory consequences for small organic farms and supplement manufacturers. The bill is better now than its earlier version despite push back from anti-health-supplement proponents and the processed food industry. 

The work of a diverse and dedicated coalition and a few members of Congress helped change the bill for the better.

Here are some of the changes that grass roots ans organizational allies have made to the Food Safety bill:

• Excluded excessive punishment.

S. 510 will not include the obscene ten-year jail sentences for food and supplement manufacturers who violate complicated FDA rules. That language was specifically designed to target supplement manufacturers while leaving pharmaceutical drug and medical device companies untouched.

• Resisted international harmonization of food and health supplement policy.

Language in the bill was modified to prevent the US from harmonizing to  international food and supplement rules as in Europe, where attempts are being made to regulate away natural health.

• Excluded small farmers from burdensome regulation.

Some small-farm and organic food advocates warned that the legislation would destroy their industry under a mountain of paperwork. An amendment from Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), which exempts producers with less than $500,000 a year in sales who sell most of their food locally was included in the Senate version. Many organizations fought tirelessly to protect the burgeoning local healthy food movement from unwarranted federal regulation, and from the processed food companies that are increasingly nervous about competition. Thirty processed food organizations like the American Frozen Food Institute and the Corn Refiners Association sent a letter to the Senate arguing that a local produce stand should face the same regulatory hurdles as their industrial-scale processed food operations.

The House of Representatives agreed to adopt this Senate version of the bill instead of the 2009 House version. 
The bill now continues to have a lot wrong with it. 
There will be opportunities to change more through the rule making process as the FDA adds more regulation.

Information supplied by ANH may be included in this update.

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Posted in: S510

S 510 Status Report - Food Safety Bill

UPDATE:  This bill has now passed in both the house and senate.  Let Obama know you don't want it signed.

Nov. 29, 2010, from Weston A Price Foundation

The final vote on S.510, the Food safety Modernization Act, is scheduled for this evening (Monday, November 29). The first step will be a cloture vote to allow the Managers Package version of the bill to proceed, which will require 60 votes. Four amendments will then be debated, followed by a final vote on the bill.

As it currently stands, the Managers Package of the bill includes the Tester-Hagan amendment. For many months, we have been pushing for this amendment to be included in the bill to carve out a sphere of protection for small-scale, direct marketing producers. The version of the Tester-Hagan amendment that is included in the bill exempts producers grossing under $500,000 (adjusted for inflation) and selling more than half of their products directly to qualified end users from the HACCP-type requirements and the produce safety standards. Qualified end users means individual consumers (with no geographic limitation), or restaurants and retail food establishments that are EITHER located in the same state OR within 275 miles of the producer. While complex, this amendment effectively carves out small-scale producers who are selling in-state or to local foodsheds from two of the most burdensome provisions of the bill.

At the same time, we dont think S.510 is a good bill even with the amendment. It increases FDAs power, which will undoubtedly lead to even more battles between FDA and local food producers and consumers. FDA has abused the powers it already has, and that will almost certainly continue, with or without this bill.

We also know that Big Agribusiness is NOT happy with the inclusion of the Tester-Hagan amendment in the bill. Groups such as the Produce Marketing Association and the Western Growers Association are busy lobbying the Senate to try to have the amendment pulled back out.

As bad as the bill is now, it would be even worse without the amendment!

Different people and organizations have different views, so you may get conflicting advice. Our belief is that the bill will most likely pass the Senate, and that it is critical to ensure that the protections of the Tester-Hagan amendment are not lost in last-minute backroom deals.

WHATS NEXT?

If S510 passes the Senate this week, there is still more to come. First, the bill will go to the House of Representatives. Rather than try to reconcile the bill with the House version (HR 2749), the House leadership has agreed to put S510 to a vote on the floor of the House. Because time is running out for this Congress, any changes by the House would almost certainly kill the bill. If the House passes S510, it then goes to the President.

Second, next year, Congress will face the question of appropriating money to implement the new laws and regulations. S510 authorizes, but does not appropriate, monies for the FDA-expanded regulation of domestic and imported conventional food producers, distributors, and retailers, and the hiring of more FDA bureaucrats. To carry out all of the new rules and FDA authorities, Congress will have to approve $1.4 billion of new spending or cut other programs accordingly, based on the CBO estimates. This gives us a chance to affect the level of funding and how the money can be spent.

Third, FDA will start the rulemaking process. The agency will almost certainly try to marginalize the role of local foods producers and consumers in the process. We will have to take action to ensure that our concerns are on the record and that elected officials in Congress are also involved to try to rein in the agency from overstepping its bounds.

ACTION TO TAKE:

Call your Senators and ask to speak to the staffer who handles food safety issues. Urge them to, at a minimum, stand firm on including the Tester-Hagan amendment in the bill. Explain to them that local food producers and consumers already face problems because of FDA, and we are worried about what FDA will do with expanded powers. And then look beyond the bill, and ask them to take action to protect local food producers through the appropriations process and through oversight of the agency. Tell them that you will hold your Senators accountable for what FDA does, and that their job does not end with this bill.

If you get their voice mail, leave a message: My name is ____, and I am a constituent who is concerned about the expanded authority that FDA would have under S510, the food safety bill. I urge Senator _____ to, at a minimum, ensure that the Tester-Hagan amendment stays in the bill. The FDA has a track record of abusing its authority to go after small-scale producers, while turning a blind eye to the many problems caused by large industrial producers. With or without S510, I urge my Senator to take steps to rein in the FDAs abuses. I would like to talk with you more about this, please call me back at ________.

CONTACT INFO:

You can call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Senators offices. You can also find your Senators contact information online at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm If their phone line is busy, you can use their web form to contact them or fax a short note.

OTHER NOTES OF INTEREST

During the last several months, we have also asked you to call on two other amendments to the bill: to support an amendment to ban BPA and to oppose an amendment to add criminal penalties. Senator Feinstein chose to withdraw her amendment to ban BPA in the face of industry opposition. Senator Leahy's amendment to add criminal penalties appears to be dead, although we will continue to watch for it.

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Posted in: S510

S510 Vote This Week - CALL TO ACTION

UPDATE: 23 November  

cORNUCOPIA iNSTITUTE - pLEASE CALL LEGISLATORS AGAIN

Agribusiness Shows Its True Colors!
Even though an agreement was reached on the Tester-Hagan amendment last week, by the leadership in the Senate, this issue in the food safety bill is still not over!
The Tester-Hagan amendment would exempt smaller, organic and local growers from expensive regulatory burdens.
For over a year, the big Agribusiness trade organizations have supported passage of S.510, the Food Safety Modernization Act. From agribusiness’s perspective, the bill was a win-win: they could absorb the costs of the regulations because of their size; they’d gain good PR for supposedly improving food safety practices, gain some protection from legal liabilities—and hobble the competition—local food producers by crushing them with new regulatory burdens.
Their anti-competitive motivation was only speculation until now. But when the Senators agreed to include the Tester-Hagan amendment in the bill, to exempt small-scale direct-marketing producers from some of the most burdensome provisions, agribusiness revealed its true colors. Late last week, twenty agribusiness lobby groups fired off a letter stating that they would oppose the bill if it included the Tester-Hagan amendment.  Complete article > see link above

FOOD POLITICS

Senate Food Safety Bill Moves Ahead

 

Who's Buying Whose Vote on S510 These is a whole lot of money being paid out on this one!

URGENT ALERT- CLOTURE VOTE ON S.510 THIS WEEK

  

S.510, the Food Safety Bill contains language that seriously threat to our access to dietary supplements according to attorney Jonathan Emord. See the interview with him below.

  

Please call both of your Senators today to oppose it via the Capital Switchboard at

202-224-3121. When you get connected ask for each of your Senators. Tell them to kill S.510 The Food Safety Bill Tell them not to hand broad new regulatory powers to the corrupt FDA that would be used against dietary supplement manufacturers and also small farmers!

The legislation encourages the FDA to harmonize its regulations to those of the European Union where dietary supplements are very heavily restricted. It also creates a financial incentive for the FDA to engage in numerous inspections of dietary supplement companies and small farmers in which small businessmen would be charged for the hourly cost of any reinspection. This sets the stage for gross regulatory abuse by an out of control agency with a long history of abusing its power:

See the following excerpt from an interview below of attorney Jonathan Emord by Jon Rappoport and please forward this alert widely- call everyone you know to urge them to call their Senators. We must apply huge pressure THIS WEEK during this Lame Duck session of Congress if we are to successfully kill this bill because many who support it are on their way out of office and don't care what we want.

The entire interview can be seen at this link http://jonrappoport.wordpress.com/2010/10/25/the-threat-to-health-freedom-now/  but the excerpt below pertains directly to S.510.

RAPPOPORT:  This past summer, Congress took up a food safety bill (S.510).  What’s its present status?  Does its wording really suggest we may be subject to Codex regulations vis-à-vis the sale of nutritional supplements?  What are the shortcomings of the bill?

EMORD:  This bill is a significant threat to the supplement industry.  It contains a provision that permits FDA to charge the hourly cost of its inspections of [nutritional-supplement] establishments if the agency finds a violation warranting a re-inspection. 

That creates an incentive for FDA to find fault on first inspections and to do re-inspections as a revenue raiser.  The bill also includes a provision that encourages FDA to evaluate harmonization between domestic and foreign regulation.  That invites the agency to construe its regulations to effect a change in them favoring the EU model.  At a time when the FDA is in great disrepute for abusing its powers (approving unsafe drugs, failing to force the withdrawal of unsafe drugs form the market, and censoring health information concerning supplements), the Congress is about to entrust the agency with yet more vast new regulatory powers. 

That is a big mistake.  Congress should be moving rapidly in the other direction, taking away power from this corrupt agency.  The problem is that Congress, too, is quite corrupt.  Senator Harry Reid said that he would not move the bill forward in the Senate until after the election.  The election is likely to result in Republican control of the House and either Republican control of the Senate or a loss of Democratic dominance in the Senate.  If that happens, S. 510 could become a casualty of an angry electorate desirous of stopping the regulatory train before it leaves the station.

-----------------------------

ALSO SEE THIS ALERT AGAINST S.510 BY THE WESTON A PRICE FOUNDATION-

IT ALSO THREATENS SMALL ORGANIC FARMERS-- WHEN YOU CALL YOUR SENATORS ALSO DISCUSS THESE TALKING POINTS

URGENT ACTION ALERT ON FOOD SAFETY LEGISLATION

The Senate is coming back for the lame duck session, and the Food Safety Modernization Act (S.510) is scheduled for a cloture vote this week.  We have asked you to take action on this issue several times this year, and now were in the final push.  It is critical that you call your Senators NOW to urge them to amend or oppose S.510!

S.510 greatly expands FDAs authority over both processed foods and fresh fruits and vegetables, and would give FDA authority to impose extensive, burdensome requirements on even the smallest processing facilities and farms that sell to local consumers. 

We need the Tester-Hagan amendment to protect our vulnerable local food producers!

TAKE ACTION

Please call BOTH of your Senators.  You can find their contact information at www.Senate.gov or by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. 

Urge your Senators to amend or oppose S.510, and specifically to:

1) SUPPORT the TESTER-HAGAN AMENDMENT to prevent the imposition of new federal regulations on small-scale, direct-marketing producers.

2) OPPOSE any amendment to add criminal penalties to S.510.

As it is currently written, S.510 would make our food supply LESS safe by harming local producers, increasing our reliance on imported foods due to the burden on domestic producers, and giving FDA new powers without holding the agency accountable for its failures.

TALKING POINTS

1.  Small, local food producers have not contributed to the highly publicized foodborne illness outbreaks and should not be subjected to extensive new federal regulation.   Although S. 510 includes some provisions that call for flexibility, the bills current language still imposes extensive new requirements on even the smallest farmers and food producers.  State and local regulation have already proven to be enough for local food producers; we dont need new federal regulations. 

2.  Increased regulations and record-keeping obligations could destroy small businesses that bring both jobs and food to local communities.  In this time of economic hardship, we need more local food businesses! Congress should work to reduce regulatory burdens on them, not increase them.

3.  Food safety and security both come from a diversified, vibrant local food system.  Local foods give consumers the choice to buy from producers they know, creating a transparent, accountable food system without federal government oversight. 

4.  Additional FDA regulation is counterproductive.  FDA has not used its existing authority well.  Instead of focusing its resources on the problems posed by imported foods and large processing facilities, FDA has chosen to target small processors.  While approving unlabeled GMOs to enter our food supply, it has opposed raw milk and interfered with the free choice of informed adults who want access to this healthy food.  Simply giving FDA increased authority and power will not improve the food supply unless Congress requires the agency to focus on Agribusiness and not small, local producers.

5.  Increased regulation of our domestic food suppliers will lead to greater dependence on imported foods, harming both our economy and our security.  The bill will create incentives for retailers to import more food from other countries, because it will burden family farms and small business and because it will be practically impossible to hold foreign food facilities to the same standards and inspections.  The bill will create a considerable competitive disadvantage for ALL U.S. agriculture and food production (see analysis at http://ftcldf.org/news/news-20Oct2009-2.html). 

6.  S.510 does not address many of the fundamental problems with our food.  The bill does not cover the factory livestock farms that are the source of dangerous E. coli 0157:H7, nor does it address issues such as BPA, pesticide and herbicide contamination, GMOs, or the many other contaminants that impact our health.  It is not productive to focus on bacterial contamination and nothing else.

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Posted in: Call to Action,food safety bill,S510