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House Folds Food Safety Into Budget Bill

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives folded food-safety legislation into a budget bill Wednesday and passed it by a 212-206 margin.

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives folded food-safety legislation into a budget bill Wednesday and passed it by a 212-206 margin.

The Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Modernization Act, which seeks to strengthen the FDA in the wake of a series of outbreaks of foodborne illness, had previous passed the Senate but had to be reintroduced through the House because of a technicality. The Senate is expected to vote on the budget bill within the next few days.

“The landmark FDA Food Safety Modernization Act will fundamentally alter the way we protect public health and the safety in our food supply, trying to prevent contamination before it happens," said Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in a statement. "It also improves our capability to detect and respond to foodborne illness, and, for the first time, requires importers of food to the U.S. to verify the food meets U.S. FDA food safety standards."