Health Law

Time for a Senate vote on the "Food Safety Modernization Act"

By Drew Falkenstein

1938 was the year that Congress passed the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which gave the FDA the authority to oversee the safety of many aspects of our food supply.  Also in 1938:

• The average price of a new home was $3,900
• A gallon of gas cost a dime
• Average annual wages were $1,730
• The Fair Labor Standards Act set the minimum wage at twenty-five cents
• Oil was DISCOVERED in Saudi Arabia
• And Adolf Hitler was designated Time Magazine's "Person of the Year."

Fortunately, and unfortunately as to a few things, we have moved on from 1938 in most respects.  One thing that really hasn't changed, however, is the regulatory framework that binds and guides the FDA in regulating our food supply.  It is well past time for work to be done on this issue--i.e. a vote on, and passage of, Senate bill 510, a/k/a "The Food Safety Modernization Act."

Would Linda Rivera be healthy and well had Congress acted prior to the spring 2009 Nestle cookie dough E. coli outbreak?   Would we be in the midst of a half-billion egg recall and a huge national Salmonella outbreak?

Full post as published by Food Poison Blog on August 25, 2010 (boomark / email).