Describing the U.S. food safety system as “hopelessly fragmented and outdated,” a congresswoman is pushing for the creation of a single federal agency to secure the nation’s food supply.
Currently, the Food and Drug Administration
Continue Reading Congressional duo continues push for switch to single food safety agency
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
Continue Reading Amendment to Increase FSMA Funding Fails in Committee
Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) have requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) study whether creating a single food agency would increase efficiencies, reduce costs and
Continue Reading Senators Ask GAO to Examine Options for Food Safety Oversight
Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) are asking Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to finalize USDA’s Salmonella and Campylobacter performance standards as soon as possible. In January, USDA’s Food Safety and
Continue Reading Senators Want USDA to Finalize Poultry Pathogen Standards
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is proposing legislation that would require recalls of meat and poultry contaminated with pathogens. “As it stands now, if foods like ground beef and sliced turkey are found to be unsafe,
Continue Reading FSIS Would Have Mandatory Recall Authority Under Proposed Bill
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) have introduced bills in Congress that would establish a single, independent federal food safety agency. 
Food safety oversight is currently split up among 15 agencies in
Continue Reading Lawmakers Introduce Bills to Create Single Food Safety Agency
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is planning to release new safety standards for Campylobacter in poultry, in addition to the Salmonella performance standard already in the works. Both are
Continue Reading FSIS Drafting Campylobacter Performance Standards for Chicken Parts
Just across the river from the epicenter of a mysterious E. coli outbreak, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) warned that cuts to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) budget would be a step backward for
Continue Reading With E. Coli Close to Home, Durbin Blasts Proposed FDA Cuts
The marketing of melatonin-laced brownies to children was a just a local issue last week, but not anymore.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) Wednesday asked U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to see
Continue Reading Durbin Wants FDA to Regulate Food with Melatonin
After a year of legislative limbo, the future of the food safety bill in the Senate remains highly uncertain, as the work days left before the contentious midterm elections are dwindling.
Late Thursday, Senator Tom
Continue Reading Time Growing Short for Vote on Food Safety Bill
The food safety bill pending in the Senate has hit another speed bump. S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, will not be brought to the floor next week, as was widely expected. Instead,
