What the Newly Passed Food Safety Reform Bill Means for You

Yesterday, lawmakers finally passed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510), also known as the food safety reform bill. This legislation has been kicking around for more than a year-and-a-half now, and as I reported previously, has seen some pretty serious bumps in the road. After public health advocates and some sustainable foodies turned on the pressure, Congress gave in and OK'ed S. 510.

Wading through the legalese of this law can be tricky, but basically here's how the bill boils down for everyday consumers: Every year, diners chow down on millions of pounds of food coming from major, large-scale producers. Some of these purveyors — like Wright County Egg and Hillendale Farms, for example — might get a visit from a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspector once every 10 or 15 years. It's a huge lack of oversight that's prompted many producers to cut corners by scaling back on sanitation and food safety measures. Once S. 510 gets signed into law, producers will be in for a big change.

The food safety reform bill mandates more frequent inspections of both food production and processing sites. If inspectors find safety violations, producers will be expected to clean up their acts — fast. Every major producer will need to put in place comprehensive food safety programs. Plus, S. 510 gives the FDA the power to issue mandatory food recalls if a contamination outbreak does occur. Under the current law, the FDA can only ask food companies to voluntarily recall contaminated foods.

The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act will by no means completely revolutionize America's crippled food system, but it will make our vittles a little bit safer to eat. According to the most recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly one in six people — about 48 million Americans — come down with foodborne illness every year, while 3,000 die from the contamination. There's no reason Americans should be seeing salmonella-tainted eggs, listeriosis-loaded celery, or E. coli-coated salads at the scale and frequency that we currently do. S. 510 will push major producers in a cleaner, safer direction and therefore help prevent some of these massive contamination outbreaks that sicken so many every year.

S. 510 is certainly a contentious issue, even amongst the sustainable foodie crowd. It took a lot of pressure from consumers, public health advocates, and food activists to get lawmakers to come around on this bill. Through two different petitions, more than 3,000 Change.org members asked Congress to pass S. 510. It's taken more than a year-and-a-half and a lot of ups and downs, but our hard work finally paid off.

Photo credit: lorenkerns via Flickr