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S. 510 The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009

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Summary
S. 510 would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to expand the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to regulate food. Each food facility would be required to evaluate hazards and implement preventive controls. The Secretary would assess and collect fees related to food facility re-inspection, food recalls, and the voluntary qualified importer program. The Secretary of HHS and the Secretary of Agriculture would prepare the National Agriculture and Food Defense Strategy. The Secretary would identify preventive programs and practices to promote the safety and security of food, promulgate regulations on sanitary food transportation practices, develop a policy to manage the risk of food allergy and anaphylaxis in schools and early childhood education programs, allocate inspection resources based on the risk profile of food facilities or food, recognize bodies that accredit food testing laboratories, and improve the capacity of the Secretary to track and trace raw agricultural commodities. The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), would enhance food-borne illness surveillance systems. The Secretary would be authorized to order a mandatory recall of food. The legislation also provides for foreign supplier verification activities, a voluntary qualified importer program, and the inspection of foreign facilities registered to import food.

AVMA Position: Support

Justification:

• S. 510 is consistent with the AVMA Food Safety Policy:
  http://www.avma.org/issues/policy/food_safety.asp
• The AVMA recognizes that much progress has already been made towards an integrated consortium of laboratory network and a food defense strategy and believes that provisions in S.510 would enhance implementation of these concepts and possibly provide additional funding for these efforts.
• The AVMA feels the Hazardous Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) System can be applied to all type foods to assure safe, wholesome products for human consumption and is essential language in S.510.
• The AVMA agrees that the frequency of inspection should be based on the risk profile of the facility.

AVMA Contact: Dr. Ashley Shelton, Assistant Director, AVMA Governmental Relations at 202-289-3210 or ashelton@avma.org.

AS 07/22/09