LAWMAKERS PUSH FOR FOOD SAFETY OFFICE
of food contamination cases, Democratic lawmakers are pushing to create a single agency to oversee food safety. The Food Safety Act, written by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and co-sponsored by Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., would place responsibility for food safety in the hands of one agency. The bill calls for bar codes on fresh produce to better trace the source of foodborne illnesses. The legislation also would require food processing plants to establish standards to prevent contamination and for U.S.-based facilities to undergo regular inspections. "The act would take food safety oversight responsibilities of 12 different agencies and compile them under one agency, so it wouldn't take all of USDA's overarching authority over agriculture, but it would be taking their food safety measures and taking it under one umbrella agency to make it more streamlined," said Josh Valsto, spokesman for Schumer's office. "We're hoping to get it moving, but if not, we'll just push it when we come back in January."
