An appropriations bill from a committee in the U.S. House of Representatives would direct the FDA to unify its food program under one person.

The move echoes the sentiment from a House committee, former FDA leaders, and experts in the field of food safety.

In recent years members of the

Continue Reading House committee directs FDA Commissioner to unify FDA food programs with a clear chain of command

Capitol-Nov2015_406x250Late 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
Continue Reading Spending Bill Includes $104-Million Increase for FSMA, COOL Repeal

Sept16FDA-hearingIt’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
Continue Reading FDA Tells Senate Subcommittee Full Funding is ‘Absolutely Critical’ for FSMA Success

House-AgApprop2015_406x250Food 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
Continue Reading Food Safety Plays Minimal Role in House Appropriations Markup

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
Continue Reading House Appropriations Gives FSMA $41.5-Million Increase

CDCbuilding_406x250As Congress works to prepare its appropriations bills for fiscal year 2016, nine health and consumer groups are requesting that extra funding be allocated for the national database used to track foodborne illness outbreaks.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s PulseNet is a national network of public health and

Continue Reading Groups Want Increased Funding to Support CDC’s PulseNet Database

USDA-Feb2015 Some House Republicans appear to be considering proposals for a single food safety agency. In January, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced bills to establish such an agency independent of any federal department. In his budget proposal for fiscal year 2016, President Obama proposed the
Continue Reading Savings From a Single Food Safety Agency Appeal to Some House Republicans

This year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was allocated an additional $27.5 million for food safety activities, and, under the president’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2016, the agency would get another $109.5 million. In a Tuesday FDA blog post, Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine Michael
Continue Reading FDA’s Taylor: Proposed 2016 Funding Critical for FSMA Implementation