A food safety bill that is being hailed as “historic” passed the U.S. Senate at the end of November and is now in the House. The bill was stalled for more than a year in the Senate before it passed on Nov. 30 with a vote of 73 to 25.
The Food and Drug Administration’s bill is the first major overhaul of food safety law in 70 years. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the bill’s passage was supported by a coalition of consumer and industry organizations, which included many survivors of foodborne illness.
“Everyone who eats will benefit from this historic legislation,” said CSPI Executive Director Michael F. Jacobson in a statement. “FDA will have new tools to help ensure that America’s food supply is safer, causing fewer illnesses and deaths. Preventing contamination in the first place is paramount to reducing the health care and economic costs that are caused when unsafe food makes people sick.”
