Senator Feinstein introduces food safety bill with food maker focus

02-Dec-2009 - Last updated on 02-Dec-2009 at 16:43 GMT

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) has introduced food safety legislation that would require all food producers to take responsibility for certifying that finished products are pathogen-free.

The legislation would amend the Poultry Products Inspection Act, the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to prohibit the sale of any food that has not been certified as safe. It would also require manufacturers to list every cut of meat included in ground meat products, and ensure that food makers tell the consumer about all added colorings, synthetic flavorings and spices, according to a bill summary released on Monday.

Sen. Feinstein said in a statement: “Food producers must be obligated to produce food that is free of pathogens. It is the responsibility of the food producer, not the consumer, to make sure our food is safe to eat.”

The bill comes in the midst of a flurry of food safety legislation that has been introduced this year, in the wake of a multi-state salmonella outbreak linked to peanut products in January. The Food Safety Enhancement Act passed a House vote in July, while a Senate variant, the Food Safety Modernization Act, has been stalled as the Senate concentrates on the debate over health care reform. The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee signed off on the bill last month, but it is unlikely to gain a hearing by the full Senate until next year.

Pathogen reduction

Nevertheless, Feinstein believes that this bill does not go far enough to plug the holes in the US food safety system, which is why she has introduced the Processed Food Safety Act. It would “prohibit the sale of any processed poultry, meat and FDA-regulated food that has not either undergone a pathogen reduction treatment, or been certified to contain no verifiable traces of pathogens.”

Feinstein said: “Serious reform is needed. This bill would require companies that process any kind of food, from ground beef to frozen pot pies, to test their finished products and their ingredients to make sure that they are safe to eat and pathogen free.”

She claims that this will reduce the presence of food pathogens and enable consumers to make better-informed decisions about which foods they choose to eat.