It’s difficult to summarize what happened on the animal antibiotics front this year. There were lots of pledges, lots of discussions and lots of reports, but not very many actions. Still, we still wanted to recap what happened in the 2015 regarding animal antibiotics. The Centers for Disease Control and
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Spending Bill Includes $104-Million Increase for FSMA, COOL Repeal
Late Tuesday night, the House of Representatives released a $1.1-trillion spending bill to fund the federal government through the end of the fiscal year, which is Sept. 30, 2016. Lobbyists for full funding of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) were pleased with the numbers. The Food and Drug Administration
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FDA Tells Senate Subcommittee Full Funding is ‘Absolutely Critical’ for FSMA Success
It’s an oft-heard statement from officials at the Food and Drug Administration: The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) requires sufficient funding allocated by Congress in order to be a success. The testimony that Acting FDA Commissioner Stephen Ostroff and Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine Michael Taylor gave before
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Amendment to Increase FSMA Funding Fails in Committee
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the agriculture appropriations bill for fiscal year 2016 on Thursday after discussing a handful of amendments. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) proposed an amendment to increase the funding allocated for implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), but it was ultimately voted down. This came
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Senate Ag Appropriations Bill Heads to Full Committee
The Senate’s FY 2016 agriculture appropriations bill has received subcommittee approval and will be considered by the full appropriations committee on Thursday. The bill includes a $45-million increase for the Food and Drug Administration’s food safety activities. Although $3.5 million more than the House allocation, the increase is still
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Food Safety Plays Minimal Role in House Appropriations Markup
Food safety was not a significant part of discussions Wednesday during the House Appropriations Committee markup of the agriculture funding bill. Nutrition policies, the Food for Peace program and FDA pre-market review of e-cigarettes were some of the major topics of debate. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) praised the inclusion of
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House Appropriations Gives FSMA $41.5-Million Increase
The House Appropriations Committee has allocated a $41.5-million increase for the Food and Drug Administration’s food safety activities for fiscal year 2016, but it’s less than half of what President Obama’s budget requested. Agriculture Subcommittee Chairman Robert Aderholt (R-AL) said Thursday in his opening remarks before the subcommittee’s markup of
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Reid Calls for Full FSMA Funding on Senate Floor
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) urged Congress to fully fund the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in his remarks Tuesday on the floor of the U.S. Senate. “Unfortunately for many Americans, falling ill from contaminated food has become all too regular,” Reid said. He described the experiences of Rylee
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Hamburg Tells Senate Budget Committee FSMA Funding Needed to Fill ‘Significant’ Gaps
Many questions directed at outgoing Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg during a Senate budget hearing on Thursday concerned funding for the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and details of the law’s rules. The agency’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2016 asks for a total of $1.5 billion
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Budget Subcommittee Zeroes in on FDA’s Request for More FSMA Funding
The increased funding the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has requested for implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in fiscal year 2016 was one of the key topics of discussion Wednesday during a House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee hearing. 
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