Emergency funding legislation for the federal government approved by the Senate includes provisions that will hamper food safety efforts already in motion — industry lobbyists have been working to halt those efforts.
In a scathing report, The Lever outlined how groups such as the National Restaurant Association, the National Grocers Association, and the International Foodservice Distributors Association, have spent millions lobbying federal regulators on food safety provisions this year.
The funding legislation puts on hold or specifically defunds a number of food safety measures that the Food and Drug Administration has in the works. The agency did not respond to requests from Food Safety News for comment on the situation.
The Senate amendment includes language specifically targeting provisions of the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act. Among the key provisions of that Act is a traceability rule that was supposed to go into effect next year. The Food and Drug Administration proposed that the rule be put on hold until 2028 and the funding legislation upholds that plan.
Part of the traceability rule would establish new record-keeping standards for companies to track their food products across the supply chain. Food safety proponents say such records are needed so that the sources of foodborne illness outbreaks can be detected more quickly.
The funding bill also targets rules designed to minimize the risk of serious adverse health consequences or death from consumption of contaminated produce.
The legislation approved by the Senate comes after a record year for foodborne illnesses, according to data complied by Public Interest Research Group. The Government Accountability Office also reports staggering numbers, saying that there are 10 million cases of foodborne illnesses annually.
“Despite that, the new funding bill blocks federal rules designed to trace sources of outbreaks, and to prevent contamination of produce. One provision in the legislation states that no funds ‘may be used to administer or enforce the ‘Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods,’ published on Nov. 21, 2022,’ “ The Lever reported.
In addition to slashing food safety provisions, the Senate-approved legislation would also hamper the development of regulations for ultra-processed foods, which are a pet peeve of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The funding bill also cuts money for the FDA to develop or administer new regulations for “long-term population-wide sodium reduction actions until an assessment is completed on the impact of the short-term sodium reduction targets,” another of Kennedy’s focus points.
Other key provisions in the Senate legislation include:
Page 133 — None of the funds made available by this or any other Act may be used to enforce the final rule promulgated by the Food and Drug Administration entitled ‘‘Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption’’, and published on November 27, 2015, and the proposed rule issued by the Food and Drug Administration pending at the Office of Management and Budget entitled ‘‘Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding Produce for Human Consumption Related to Agricultural Water’’ (86 Fed. Reg. 69120 and 87 Fed. Reg. 42973), with respect to the regulation of entities that grow, harvest, pack, or hold wine grapes, hops, pulse crops, or almonds.
Page 140 — SEC. 752. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue or promote any new guidelines or regulations applicable to food manufacturers of low risk ready-to-eat (RTE) foods for Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) until the FDA considers the available new science in developing the Compliance Policy Guide (CPG), Guidance for FDA Staff, section 555.320 Listeria monocytogenes regarding Lm in low-risk foods, meaning foods that do not support the growth of Lm.
Page 154 — SEC. 780. No funds appropriated by this Act may be used to administer or enforce the ‘‘Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods’’, published on November 21, 2022 (87 Fed. Reg. 70910), or any other rule promulgated in accordance with section 204 of the Food Safety Modernization Act (21 U.S.C. 2223), prior to July 20, 2028.
Page 163 — In the case of a food that bears labeling making an implied nutrition content claim that the food is “healthy’’ during the compliance period, the manufacturer of the food shall not be directly or indirectly subject to any State law requirement relating to labeling making an implied nutrient content claim that a food is ‘‘healthy’’ during such period that is not identical to either — (1) the Federal requirements for labeling to make an implied nutrition content claim that a food is ‘‘healthy’’ that were in effect on the day before the effective date of such final rule; or (2) the updated Federal requirements specified in the final rule for such a claim.
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