November 17, 2010
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, today praised the Senate for voting in favor of a motion to proceed with debate of food safety legislation and urged lawmakers to pass the bill.
In the wake of a string of deadly foodborne illnesses, the bill would give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to order food recalls and set higher standards for food manufacturers.
Jean Halloran, the director of food policy initiatives at Consumers Union, said “It’s become brutally clear that we need to crack down on unsafe food. This bill would give the FDA the ability to do things, like require food recalls, that many people probably assumed were already a given. This legislation makes up a lot of lost ground in the effort to keep consumers safe.”
Ami Gadhia, policy counsel for Consumers Union, said, “The danger of contaminated food is a concern that affects everyone, and this bill has the backing of senators on both sides of the aisle. The full-court press is on to get the bill through Congress and signed by the President before the end of the year. In the past two years, we’ve seen contaminations of everything from eggs to peanut butter to Froot Loops. We have waited long enough for safer food.”
For more information about the legislation and food safety, visit Consumers Union’s web site NotInMyFood.org.