National & World Ag News Headlines Senate Panel Okays Food Safety Modernization Act USAgNet - 11/20/2009 The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee passed S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, by a voice vote on Wednesday. S. 510 would increase government oversight of the food sector by expanding the FDA authority with mandatory recalls, increased inspection rates, collection of fees and require all facilities to have a food safety plan. The legislation would "establish the Food Safety Administration within the Department of Health and Human Services to protect the public health by preventing food-borne illness, ensuring the safety of food, improving research on contaminants leading to food-borne illness, and improving security of food from intentional contamination, and for other purposes." This version of the act does not include provisions to further regulate the use of antibiotics in livestock production. AMI President and CEO J. Patrick Boyle noted that the Institute is looking forward to continuing to work with the HELP Committee on the issues of a mandatory recall system that provides for an indemnification provision, science based performance standards with notice and comment by the public and input from the scientific community and providing a burden proof for the government to suspend a facility's registration. Copyright © 2010 - USAgNet.com. All Rights Reserved.