The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S.510) was introduced by Senator Dick Durbin on March 3, 2009 and passed the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on November 18, 2009. The bill could be voted on in the full Senate at any time. Once S.510 passes the Senate, the legislation will move to conference to discuss differences with the House passed Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 (HR.2749). The Organic Trade Association (OTA) supports strong food safety legislation, but opposes requirements that would cause duplicative food safety efforts during organic production or violate National Organic Standards. OTA hopes to improve food safety legislation by supporting the following:
• Don’t force organic farmers to duplicate food safety efforts.
Certified organic farmers must be inspected by an accredited certifier at least once a year to meet the high standards of the National Organic Program. Forcing organic farmers to go through extra inspections is not necessary, and could make costs for small farmers prohibitively higher.
• Don’t create food safety rules that violate existing National Organic Program standards.
The rules established and enforced by the National Organic Program must be strictly enforced to maintain the integrity of the organic label. If some or all foods are required to go through a process that violates the organic rules, such as irradiation, the demand for organic products could plummet.
• Don’t allow user fees to be included in the final.
The current Senate Food Safety bill, S. 510, does not include new user fees. Adding fees could have a detrimental impact on small farms and processors that must keep costs as low as possible to stay in business. The HELP Committee understood this when it passed the bill, and the full Senate should continue to reject user fees.
• Support Senator Stabenow’s amendment to provide technical assistance.
New food safety standards will be daunting for small operations. Supporting Senator Stabenow’s amendment to provide technical assistance to small farmers, small food processors and small fruit and vegetable merchant wholesalers, including small organic operations, will help bring these operators into compliance with current and future food safety standards.
• Support the Organic Section included in the Manager’s Package.
The Manager’s Package currently includes language that would prohibit any requirements that conflict with or duplicate the requirements of the national organic program established under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, while providing for public health protection at the same level of public health protection under this Act. Maintaining this language in the final bill is necessary to avoid duplicative, and potentially expensive, regulations for the organic industry.
See Standards for Produce Safety Section here. (36 KB .pdf)
OTA supports a strong food safety system, but opposes requirements that would negatively impact the organic industry. Please contact Will Telligman at wtelligman@ota.com with any questions.
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