After a near certain death last week, the long-debated food safety bill, intended to reduce outbreaks of food-borne illness, was finally passed by the Senate in a surprise session last Sunday.
Last Tuesday, the bill proceeded to the House and was also approved. President Obama is expected to sign the bill, which will represent the first overhaul in food safety standards since 1938.
The new law will increase the power of the FDA and bolster regulation of food production in a variety of ways. Eric Olson, director of food and consumer product safety at the Pew Health Group, said that
Really this is a major victory for every American who will sit down at the dinner table and have more confidence that their food is going to be safe.
Here are a few of the many changes intended to prevent illness and make food safer.
The changes won't go into effect for 18 months, which gives the agency time to write new rules to carry out the law.
Funding was not written into the new bill, so there is a possibility that future cuts by a Republican-led Senate may hinder the FDA from making the required changes. Says Olson, "to fulfill the promise of this legislation you need to make sure the FDA has the resources it needs."