Statements On Introduced Bills And Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Burr, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Alexander, and Mr. Isakson):

S. 510. A bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to the safety of the food supply; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act.

When I introduced this bill in the last Congress, we were in the middle of one of the largest food-borne illness outbreaks in the history of our country. Nearly 1500 people fell sick last spring and summer because of Salmonella Saintpaul, leading to a Government investigation that pointed the finger first at tomatoes and then at jalapeno peppers in Texas before settling on Serrano peppers in Mexico. In the meantime, more people got sick and the tomato industry lost up to hundreds of millions of dollars.

Less than a year later, we find ourselves in the middle of yet another nationwide outbreak: peanut butter tainted with Salmonella, the second case of its kind in 2 years. There is not a day that goes by that we don't hear about another recalled peanut butter product or another person sick with Salmonella. More than 660 people have been sickened, half of them children. At least nine people are dead. Over 2,600 products have been recalled, in a recall that goes back to March 2005 and could continue for at least another couple of years, making this one of the biggest food recalls in our Nation's history.

Unfortunately, these problems seem to be par for the course. In the last couple of years we have seen Salmonella in our peppers and peanut butter and E. coli in our spinach. Our food safety problems do not just start and stop at home: we have also seen chemically tainted pet food, milk products, and seafood from China.

These problems are only the tip of the iceberg. Every year, more than 76 million Americans become sick because of a food-borne illness, 325,000 are hospitalized, and 5,000 die.

It is clear that the Food and Drug Administration, who regulates these foods and 80 percent of our food supply, including virtually all food imports, can not keep up. The agency is underfunded and overwhelmed. It operates under an obsolete, largely reactive 1938 law. Its food safety program has not kept up with the dramatic changes in our food system, and it does a poor job of preventing and responding to food safety problems. As a result, consumers suffer and so do businesses something we can never afford, but especially in these trying economic times.

Our food safety system is in crisis and it is time that we act. That's why Senator Gregg and I are introducing the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, a bipartisan bill that gives the FDA the new authorities and resources it needs to stop food safety problems before they start.

For the first time in history, our bill gives the FDA a mandate to inspect: to increase the inspections at all food facilities, including annual inspections of high risk facilities. It requires the food industry to have in place plans that address identified hazards with the right preventive measures. It requires all testing and sampling for regulatory purposes to be done by labs accredited by the FDA, and requires those results to be sent to the agency. It also enables the FDA to more effectively respond to an outbreak by giving the agency new authorities to order recalls, shut down tainted facilities, and access records.

This bill is proof that food safety is not a Democratic issue or a Republican one. Everyone eats. All Americans have a right to know that the food we buy for our families and our pets is safe. We should not have to worry about getting sick, or worse. If there's a problem, our Government should be able to catch it and fix it before people die.

I thank Senators Kennedy, Dodd, Klobuchar, Burr, Alexander, and Chambliss for joining me in this effort. I also want to thank the consumer, public health, and industry groups who have helped us craft a strong bill for their support: Consumer Federation of America, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Consumers Union, Trust for America's Health, Grocery Manufacturers of America, American Feed Industry Association, American Frozen Food Institute, Food Marketing Institute, National Fisheries Institute, and American Spice Trade Association.

This bill is a comprehensive, bipartisan effort that improves the FDA's ability to prevent, detect, and respond to food safety problems, whether this means Salmonella-tainted peanut butter from Georgia or melamine-spiked candy from China. It's the first step towards building a food safety system that is science and risk-based, accountable to consumers, more transparent, and focused on prevention. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be placed in the RECORD

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