Food Safety Bill Passes House

After a series of votes and issues threatened to derail efforts before the close of the 2010 legislative session, the long-awaited food safety legislation has passed both houses of Congress. The bill will now be sent to President Obama who is expected to sign into law some of the first real amendments to the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act in 70 years. The legislation passed by the House on December 21 is essentially the same as that passed by the Senate shortly after Thanksgiving, and is discussed in more detail in our analysis of the Senate bill.

Included in the bill being sent to the president is the exception for small producers, which became a point of contention as the proposal moved forward. Assuming that the bill is signed, it will take at least several months for rules to be drafted to institute many of provisions, although other provisions, such as the ability of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to institute a mandatory recall, will take effect immediately. We will continue to monitor this legislation as it moves forward and as FDA begins the rule-making process.