Food Safety: Provisions in the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 Page: 2 of 6
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Background
The original language of the Senate bill on FDA reform (S. 1082), as introduced, did
not contain any provisions on food safety. However, around the time that the Committee
on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) was considering the bill, health
problems with food ingredients from China used in pet food came to the nation's
attention. It was ultimately determined that wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate,
common pet food ingredients, had been deliberately tainted with melamine (an industrial
chemical used in the manufacture of plastics, flame-retardants, and other products) to
increase the nitrogen content of the products. The contamination of pet food is believed
to have led to the death of thousands of companion pets in the United States. Some
contaminated feed was also found on farms in the feed of food animals, but no harm came
to those food animals or to humans. Following this news, Senator Durbin and
Representative DeLauro introduced the Human and Pet Food Safety Act of 2007 in their
respective chambers (S. 1274 and H.R. 2108, respectively) to address the problem of pet
and human food contamination. The bills were assigned to committee, but no further
action has been taken.
With the FDA legislation on drugs and devices moving forward in the Senate,
Senator Durbin introduced as an amendment to S. 1082 several food safety provisions
contained in his bill. The amendment passed the Senate 94 to 0 and was sent as part of
the FDA reform bill to the House. The FDA reform bill that passed the House, H.R.
2900, did not include any food safety provisions. During the conference on S. 1082 and
H.R. 2900, certain changes were made to the legislation, including renumbering it as H.R.
3580 and modifying the final language in the food safety provisions, which are outlined
below. The provisions on food safety would primarily establish new statutory authorities.
Any amendments to current law are noted, where appropriate.
Food Safety Provisions in P.L.110-85
The food safety provisions are contained in Title X of P.L. 110-85, the FDA
Amendments Act of 2007.
Section 1001. Findings. This section contains various findings about the safety
and integrity of the U.S. food supply, illnesses and deaths caused by contaminated food,
the task of preserving the safety of the food supply, and the current level of U.S. food
imports and inspections.
Section 1002. Ensuring the Safety of Pet Food. This provision requires that
within two years, the Secretary, in consultation with other stakeholders, shall, by
regulation, establish processing and ingredient standards for pet food, as well as update
nutrition and ingredient labeling on pet food. The Secretary will have one year to
establish by regulation an early warning and surveillance system to identify adulteration
of the pet food supply and outbreaks of illness associated with pet food. The Secretary
shall, in establishing such a system, use surveillance and monitoring mechanisms similar
to, or in coordination with, those used by CDC, consulting with relevant professional
organizations and working with existing networks to inform veterinarians and others
during a pet food recall.
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Porter, Donna V. Food Safety: Provisions in the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007, report, January 8, 2008; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc816998/m1/2/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.