Tell Your Senators: Make Our Food Safe!

Dear Senator,

One in four Americans will get sick from tainted food this year and about 5,000 will die, but this doesn't have to be the case. Foodborne illness is preventable -- if producers and food manufacturers were required to develop plans aimed at preventing bacterial contamination in food and the FDA had the authority and tools necessary to oversee and better ensure the safety of the food supply. The House overwhelmingly passed comprehensive bipartisan food safety legislation (the Food Safety Enhancement Act, H.R. 2749) in July. I call on you to support quick Senate action on strong legislation that would create a comprehensive system for preventing and responding to foodborne illness.

Senator Durbin and a bipartisan group of his colleagues have introduced S. 510, which would help start this process. The Senate should move S. 510 with strengthening amendments similar to the House-passed bill as soon as possible.

Any bill that is ultimately enacted must contain some fundamental components: risk-based inspection of food manufacturers with a minimum inspection frequency of once every 6-12 months for high-risk food factories; strong requirements to ensure that imported foods are safe and that contaminated foods can be swiftly traced to their source; a requirement that companies routinely test for contaminants and report any test results that show contamination to FDA; and mandatory recall authority for FDA and the power to promptly levy penalties on companies that produce unsafe food. Moreover, it is important that legislation provide strengthened coordination and capacity building across federal, state and local governments for food-borne illness detection, surveillance, laboratories and response.

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