Food Safety Legislation on Life Support

By Ricardo Carvajal –

The massive spending bill to which food safety legislation was attached (and that also includes provisions on rare and neglected diseases) – the Fiscal Year 2011 Omnibus Appropriations Act – has been pronounced dead.  Although Congress may yet find another vehicle for food safety legislation, that prospect seems increasingly tenuous, and opponents are cautiously predicting victory.  The fate of the legislation in the next Congress is unpredictable.  

As we have previously noted, FDA isn’t sitting on its haunches pending the passage of food safety legislation that would give the agency clear authority to take certain measures it views as essential to modernization of the nation’s food safety system.  As it has done in the past, the agency can be expected to adapt its existing authorities to fulfill its objectives (e.g., GMP modernization).