Senate Passes Food Safety Bill, But Final Approval Still Pending
December 3, 2010
Senate Passes Food Safety Bill, But Final Approval Still Pending
The Senate passed major food safety reform this week by a three-to-one margin. S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, is the first comprehensive reform to food safety laws in seven decades.
S. 510 had been backed by NMPF prior to the inclusion of Sen. Jon Tester’s (D-MT) amendment which exempts small farms and business from certain safety and disease prevention control requirements. NMPF was successful including specific language recognizing the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance as compatible to the mandatory Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan required in the reform.
The final approval of the bill is still in limbo, however, because of differences between what the Senate just approved, and the need to have its revenue-raising provisions reviewed by the House of Representatives. The House has not yet decided how to handle that procedural issue.
