HR 875 – Food Safety Administration
This bill sure sounds good:
A BILL
To establish the Food Safety Administration within the Department of Health and Human Services to protect the public health by preventing food-borne illness, ensuring the safety of food, improving research on contaminants leading to food-borne illness, and improving security of food from intentional contamination, and for other purposes.
Sounds nice, right? Safe food. Who doesn't want safe food? I want safe food. How do I ensure I have safe food? I buy lots of ingredients and make my own where ever possible. I wash every fruit and vegetable I buy or grow. Isn't that common sense?
What about the large slaughter houses and large processing centers? They are already being watched by the FDA, the USDA, and other entities, each working within their own specialty.
What does this bill do? It creates a “Food Czar.” It talks about centralizing all of the functions performed by all the other entities into one department. In a way this makes sense except that it creates a whole new bureaucracy. A better solution would be to appoint one person to coordinate the information from all the agencies currently doing the job. We do not need another agency, especially one with such broad powers the new “Food Safety Administration” (FSA) would have.
From page 7 beginning with line 3 – paraphrased, emphasis added:
The FSA would:
A: regulate food safety and labeling
B: ensure that food establishments fulfill their responsibility to process, store, hold, and transport food in a manner that protects the public health of all people in the United States
C: lead an integrated, system wide approach to food safety
D: provide a single focal point within the Department of Health and Human Services for food safety leadership, both nationally and internationally
E: provide an integrated food safety research capability
In their definition section they define different types of “Food Establishments” (FE). At NO POINT in this bill do they differentiate between businesses and home gardening or between “mega businesses” and “small businesses.” Only towards the end are small businesses mentioned. They are only mentioned in regards to being given extra time to comply with all the extra record keeping and testing requirements.
If a FE is producing/processing over 2,000 lbs of product every year I think some of these requirements are wise. However, I believe they should be decided upon by the states and voluntarily submitted to a central database.
Unfortunately the requirements (which will be described shortly) will put small businesses and family farms out of business. It will be practically impossible for farmers' markets to exist.
The way the bill is written it is conceivable that families who have a garden will have to register as non-profit organizations, especially if they wish to donate extra produce to a shelter/pantry/kitchen or even give extra zucchinis to their neighbors. Private family gardens are not mentioned in any way in this bill – to either include or exempt them from having to meet the requirements.
Page 12 , lines 6 – 9: A “Food Production Facility” (FPF) means “any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal-feeding operation.”
Is this where family orchards, “u-pick-em” farms, and large private gardens fall in? What about farm animals kept as pets or for food for personal use?
The Food Czar (officially the “Adminstrator or Administration”) would be appointed by the President and confirmed by Congress.
States would be required to implement, at their own expense, the policies handed down by the Food Czar. Some federal monies would be available to help with compliance, but would not cover the cost.
The FSA would have its own inspectors and administrators. The FSA would have its own scientists and researchers as well. The bill repeatedly mentions “science-based” decisions and standards. Is this part of “science taking her rightful place?” What else would safety standards be based on? OR is this a way to disqualify the philosophies of organic farmers? The way the bill is written, it could be interpreted so as to require organic farms to provide scientific proof that organic farming is better than “traditional” farming.
Beginning on page 21, line 13, paraphrased, emphasis added:
PROGRAM ELEMENTS
adopt and implement a national system for the registration of FEs and foreign FEs
adopt and implement a national system for regular unannounced inspection of FEs
require and enforce the adoption of preventive process controls in FEs
establish and enforce science-based standards for:
A) potentially hazardous substances that may contaminate food; and
B) safety and sanitation in the processing and handling of food
implement a statistically valid sampling program
implement appropriate surveillance procedures and requirements to ensure the safety and security of imported food
coordinate and collaborate with other agencies and State or local governments in carrying out inspection, enforcement, research, and monitoring....
...12) provide technical assistance to farmers and food establishments that are small business concerns … to assist with compliance with the requirements of this Act.
Shall I go on? This Act is 117 pages of regulations, requirements, and punishments for non-compliance. Ready? Let's go on...
The Food Czar wants to keep track of all FE's name, address, emergency contact information, primary purpose and business activity of each domestic and foreign FE including the dates of operation if the FE (domestic or foreign) is seasonal, the types of food processed or sold, specific food categories of that food; the name, address, and 24-hour emergency contact information of the US distribution agent for each domestic FE or foreign FE including lot information and wholesaler and retailer distribution; an assurance that the registrant will notify the Administrator of any change in the products, function, or legal status of the FE, including cessation of business activities.
The Food Czar shall annually compile a list of domestic and foreign FEs that are registered. Page 26 line 1: “The Administrator may establish the manner of and any fees required for reregistration and any circumstances by which either such list may be shared with other governmental authorities. The Administrator may remove from either list the name of any establishment that fails to reregister, and such delisting shall be treated as a suspension.”
According to the Act, some FEs will be randomly inspected at least weekly. ALL FEs must keep detailed records of sales, distribution, handling, movement, etc. of food/ingredients and must make these available at all times to inspectors.
Page 40 beginning with line 22 – paraphrased, emphasis added:
A food establishment shall -
maintain such records as the Administrator shall require by regulation, including all records relating to the processing, distributing, receipt, or importation of any food; and
permit the Administrator, in addition to any authority transferred to the Administrator... upon presentation of appropriate credentials and at reasonable times and in a reasonable manner, to have access to and copy all records maintained by or on behalf of such food establishment representative in any format (including paper or electronic) and at any location, that are necessary to assist the Administrator...
Define “reasonable”.
Page 71 beginning with line 9 – paraphrased, emphasis added:
Any records that are required by the Administrator under this section shall be available for inspection by the Administrator upon oral or written request.
The Administrator, during any inspection, may require a food establishment to demonstrate its ability to trace an item of food and submit the information in the format and time frame required under paragraph (1).
The idea that requests can be made orally is dangerous. It establishes a “he said / she said” situation and opens the door to abuse.
This Act mentions the “National Animal Identification System” as authorized by the Animal Health Protection Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq). I will be looking into this more in another post.
Add about thirty more pages of requirements, enforcement, regulation, insurance of career establishment for inspectors, and authority to seize food and you have HR 875. It's a poorly written bill that extends federal government control.
The potential economic cost has not been estimated. It could only be astronomical due to the bureaucracy, paperwork, record keeping, inspectors, and closed businesses.
Reading this bill felt like reading something from the USSR. It made me think of Stalin who would rather allow millions starve than to allow free trade in grain.
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