Balance of Power

The current food-safety system has roots in the 1938 Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, a statute Congress debated for five years as it reckoned with an American diet oriented around meat, bread and milk, with far fewer processed foods than are found today.

Congress has amended the law numerous times since then, adding requirements addressing the safety of food additives and setting rules for labeling and packaging. But the law hasn't kept up with the times -- a fact driven home by a series of contamination scares this year, including one related to salmonella-tainted peanut products that sickened more than 700 people in 46 states.

The administration's response includes a new Food and Drug Administration rule aimed at reducing salmonella contamination in raw and undercooked eggs that the working group said would reduce foodborne illnesses by approximately 60 percent, or 79,000 illnesses. Officials are working on another regulation they plan to issue by year's end that aims to reduce salmonella contamination in turkey and chicken.

Other steps include heightened federal surveillance of how the food industry handles beef to reduce the presence of E.coli and draft guidance on how to reduce E.coli contamination in leafy greens, melons and tomatoes.

The proposals are intended to help federal authorities develop minimum standards nationwide for food processing and production and create a better system to trace the origins of food-borne illness. The administration additionally is creating a new deputy FDA commissioner post for food safety to coordinate the federal efforts.

The new steps come as the House is considering legislation (HR 2749) that would strengthen food traceability requirements and allow the FDA to impose civil penalties for the first time. The measure also would allow the FDA to impose mandatory food quarantines for the first time and increase the frequency of inspections at certain food processing facilities, depending on the level of risk.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the bill by voice vote on June 17, but some agriculture interests remain concerned about heavy handed and costly new regulations.