Funding Bill a Victory for Food Safety

Congress Supports Country-of-Origin Labeling, Stronger Meat Inspection

 
Washington DC - The FY 2008 Agriculture-FDA Appropriations Bill, approved Thursday by the House of Representatives, includes several important measures on food safety and consumers’ right-to-know about how their food is produced.
 
“After a year of what seemed like non-stop food contamination and import problems, Congress took some important first steps to ensuring safe food for American families,” said Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter. “The bill includes sorely needed funding for meat inspection and testing of imported foods, and sets a schedule for implementing country-of-origin labeling.“
 
Notable provisions of the bill include:

• Increased funding for food safety. The bill would provide additional funding for the Food & Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.  It would require FDA to develop a management plan to improve its food safety program and provides funding to keep open seven FDA labs slated for closure. The bill reallocates funds so that FSIS can hire more meat and poultry inspectors in areas with high vacancy rates.
• Schedule for Country-of-Origin Labeling. The bill establishes a clear timetable for the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service to implement country-of-origin-labeling by September 30, 2008.
• Imported Poultry. The bill blocks implementation of any USDA regulation that would permit the import of processed poultry products from the People’s Republic of China.
•  Risk-Based Meat Inspection. The bill blocks the implementation of a USDA proposal to institute risk-based inspection in meat and poultry processing facilities until the data for such a program is certified by the USDA Office of Inspector General. This reiterates a congressional mandate contained in an emergency supplemental appropriations bill passed earlier this year by Congress and signed into law by President Bush.

 
“House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey and Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro should be commended for their hard work developing this legislation, as should the House of Representatives for passing it,” concluded Hauter.