New Food Safety Law Faces Uncertain Future

Passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act has been something of a soap opera, and the drama may not be over yet, even though the measure was finally approved by the lame duck session of Congress.

As President Obama signed the sweeping overhaul of food safety regulations into law, there were warnings from Republicans that the House they might not approve the money to fund it.

The bill, which easily passed the House in July 2009, languished in the Senate for months, while it slowly attracted food industry support. The legislation was aimed at giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) more clout in its efforts to police the food supply.

More power

For example, under current law the FDA lacks the authority to order a recall of tainted food products. In previous high-profile salmonella and E. coli outbreaks, the FDA could only request that the affected companies recall their products.

The measure also gives FDA more resources to inspect food processing facilities. In the House, lawmakers imposed a $500 annual fee on food processing plants to provide the extra resources for the agency.

Give and take

In the Senate, the legislation enjoyed strong industry and bipartisan support until May 2010, when Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) attached an amendment that would have banned bisphenol A (BPA) from food containers. BPA is a chemical used as a hardener in plastics, but studies have linked it to potential reproductive issues in animals, and perhaps humans. Some manufacturers and retailers have voluntarily stopped using it in recent months.

Once Feinstein withdrew her amendment in November, the Senate took up the measure again in its lame duck session, approving it just under the wire.

Question of funding

However, the Senate dropped the House's requirement that industry fund the expansion of FDA authority, and placed it in the appropriations process. That means Congress will have to come up with $1.4 billion over five years.

While that's not exactly large, as agency appropriations go, in the new austerity environment in Washington, it was enough for Republicans, who are taking control of the House, to raise their eyebrows.

Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA), the likely chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee with FDA jurisdiction, told the Washington Post late last month his committee will look closely at the numbers and might scale them back if lawmakers conclude its "a significant overreach."

"The case for a $1.4 billion expenditure isn't there," he told the Post.