S. 2911 (is) To strengthen the system for notifying parents of violent sexual offenders in their communities. [Introduced in Senate] ...

	Web GovRecords.org

108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                 S. 2910

   To establish the Food Safety Administration to protect the public 
 health by preventing food-borne illness, ensuring the safety of food 
  intended for human consumption, improving research on contaminants 
  leading to food-borne illness, and improving security of food from 
                       intentional contamination.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 7, 2004

  Mr. Durbin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish the Food Safety Administration to protect the public 
 health by preventing food-borne illness, ensuring the safety of food 
  intended for human consumption, improving research on contaminants 
  leading to food-borne illness, and improving security of food from 
                       intentional contamination.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Safe Food Act of 
2004''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings; purposes.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
          TITLE I--ESTABLISHMENT OF FOOD SAFETY ADMINISTRATION

Sec. 101. Establishment of Food Safety Administration.
Sec. 102. Consolidation of separate food safety and inspection services 
                            and agencies.
Sec. 103. Additional duties of the Administration.
            TITLE II--ADMINISTRATION OF FOOD SAFETY PROGRAM

Sec. 201. Administration of national program.
Sec. 202. Registration of food establishments and foreign food 
                            establishments.
Sec. 203. Preventative process controls to reduce adulteration of food.
Sec. 204. Performance standards for contaminants in food.
Sec. 205. Inspections of food establishments.
Sec. 206. Food production facilities.
Sec. 207. Federal and State cooperation.
Sec. 208. Imports.
Sec. 209. Resource plan.
Sec. 210. Traceback.
                   TITLE III--RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

Sec. 301. Public health assessment system.
Sec. 302. Public education and advisory system.
Sec. 303. Research.
                         TITLE IV--ENFORCEMENT

Sec. 401. Prohibited Acts.
Sec. 402. Food detention, seizure, and condemnation.
Sec. 403. Notification and recall.
Sec. 404. Injunction proceedings.
Sec. 405. Civil and criminal penalties.
Sec. 406. Presumption.
Sec. 407. Whistleblower protection.
Sec. 408. Administration and enforcement.
Sec. 409. Citizen civil actions.
                        TITLE V--IMPLEMENTATION

Sec. 501. Definition.
Sec. 502. Reorganization plan.
Sec. 503. Transitional authorities.
Sec. 504. Savings provisions.
Sec. 505. Conforming amendments.
Sec. 506. Additional technical and conforming amendments.
Sec. 507. Regulations.
Sec. 508. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 509. Limitation on authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 510. Effective date.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) the safety of the food supply of the United States is 
        vital to the public health, to public confidence in the food 
        supply, and to the success of the food sector of the Nation's 
        economy;
            (2) lapses in the protection of the food supply and loss of 
        public confidence in food safety are damaging to consumers and 
        the food industry, and place a burden on interstate commerce;
            (3) the safety and security of the food supply requires an 
        integrated, system-wide approach to preventing food-borne 
        illness, a thorough and broad-based approach to basic and 
        applied research, and intensive, effective, and efficient 
        management of the Nation's food safety program;
            (4) the task of preserving the safety of the food supply of 
        the United States faces tremendous pressures with regard to--
                    (A) emerging pathogens and other contaminants and 
                the ability to detect all forms of contamination;
                    (B) an aging and immune compromised population, 
                with a growing number of people at high-risk for food-
                borne illnesses;
                    (C) an increasing volume of imported food, without 
                adequate monitoring and inspection; and
                    (D) maintenance of rigorous inspection of the 
                domestic food processing and food service industries;
            (5) Federal food safety standard setting, inspection, 
        enforcement, and research efforts should be based on the best 
        available science and public health considerations and food 
        safety resources should be systematically deployed in ways that 
        most effectively prevent food-borne illness;
            (6) the Federal food safety system is fragmented, with at 
        least 12 Federal agencies sharing responsibility for food 
        safety, and operates under laws that do not reflect current 
        conditions in the food system or current scientific knowledge 
        about the cause and prevention of food-borne illness;
            (7) the fragmented Federal food safety system and outdated 
        laws preclude an integrated, system-wide approach to preventing 
        food-borne illness, to the effective and efficient operation of 
        the Nation's food safety program, and to the most beneficial 
        deployment of food safety resources;
            (8) the National Academy of Sciences recommended in the 
        report ``Ensuring Safe Food from Production to Consumption'' 
        that Congress establish by statute a unified and central 
        framework for managing Federal food safety programs, and 
        recommended modifying Federal statutes so that inspection, 
        enforcement, and research efforts are based on scientifically 
        supportable assessments of risks to public health; and
            (9) the lack of a single focal point for food safety 
        leadership in the United States undercuts the ability of the 
        United States to exert food safety leadership internationally, 
        which is detrimental to the public health and the international 
        trade interests of the United States.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to establish a single agency to be known as the ``Food 
        Safety Administration''--
                    (A) to regulate food safety and labeling to protect 
                the public health;
                    (B) to ensure that food establishments fulfill 
                their responsibility to produce food in a manner that 
                protects the public health of all people in the United 
                States;
                    (C) to lead an integrated, system-wide approach to 
                food safety and to make more effective and efficient 
                use of resources to prevent food-borne illness; and
                    (D) to provide a single focal point for food safety 
                leadership, both nationally and internationally;
            (2) to transfer to the Food Safety Administration the food 
        safety, labeling, inspection, and enforcement functions that, 
        as of the day before the effective date of this Act, are 
        performed by other Federal agencies; and
            (3) to modernize the Federal food safety laws to achieve 
        more effective application and efficient management of the laws 
        for the protection and improvement of public health.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administration.--The term ``Administration'' means the 
        Food Safety Administration established under section 101(a)(1).
            (2) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of Food Safety appointed under section 101(a)(3).
            (3) Adulterated.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``adulterated'' has the 
                meaning described in subsections (a) through (c) of 
                section 402 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 
                (21 U.S.C. 342(a)-(c)).
                    (B) Inclusion.--The term ``adulterated'' includes 
                bearing or containing a contaminant that causes illness 
                or death among sensitive populations.
            (4) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given that 
        term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
            (5) Category 1 food establishment.--The term ``category 1 
        food establishment'' means a food establishment that routinely 
        slaughters animals for human consumption.
            (6) Category 2 food establishment.--The term ``category 2 
        food establishment'' means a food establishment that processes 
        raw meat, poultry, seafood products, and other products that 
        the Administrator determines by regulation to be at high risk 
        of contamination and the processes of which do not include a 
        step validated to destroy contaminants.
            (7) Category 3 food establishment.--The term ``category 3 
        food establishment'' means a food establishment that processes 
        meat, poultry, seafood products, and other products that the 
        Administrator determines by regulation to be at high risk of 
        contamination and whose processes include a step validated to 
        destroy contaminants.
            (8) Category 4 food establishment.--The term ``category 4 
        food establishment'' means a food establishment that processes 
        all other categories of food products not described in 
        paragraphs (5) through (7).
            (9) Category 5 food establishment.--The term ``category 5 
        food establishment'' means a food establishment that stores, 
        holds, or transports food products prior to delivery for retail 
        sale.
            (10) Contaminant.--The term ``contaminant'' includes a 
        bacterium, chemical, natural or manufactured toxin, virus, 
        parasite, prion, physical hazard, or other human pathogen that 
        when found on or in food can cause human illness, injury, or 
        death.
            (11) Contamination.--The term ``contamination'' refers to a 
        presence of a contaminant in food.
            (12) Food.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``food'' means a product 
                intended to be used for food or drink for a human.
                    (B) Inclusions.--The term ``food'' includes any 
                product (including a meat food product, as defined in 
                section 1(j) of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 
                U.S.C. 601(j))), capable for use as human food that is 
                made in whole or in part from any animal, including 
                cattle, sheep, swine, or goat, or poultry (as defined 
                in section 4 of the Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 
                U.S.C. 453)).
                    (C) Exclusion.--The term ``food'' does not include 
                dietary supplements, as defined in section 201(ff) of 
                the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 
                321(ff)).
            (13) Food establishment.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``food establishment'' 
                means a slaughterhouse, factory, warehouse, or facility 
                owned or operated by a person located in any State that 
                processes food.
                    (B) Exclusions.--For the purposes of registration, 
                the term ``food establishment'' does not include a 
                farm, restaurant, other retail food establishment, 
                nonprofit food establishment in which food is prepared 
                for or served directly to the consumer, or fishing 
                vessel (other than a fishing vessel engaged in 
                processing, as that term is defined in section 123.3 of 
                title 21, Code of Federal Regulations).
            (14) Food production facility.--The term ``food production 
        facility'' means any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, 
        aquaculture facility, confined animal-feeding operation, or 
        animal feed production facility.
            (15) Food safety law.--The term ``food safety law'' means--
                    (A) the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and 
                Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) related to and 
                requiring the safety, labeling, and inspection of food, 
                infant formulas, food additives, pesticide residues, 
                and other substances present in food under that Act;
                    (B) the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and 
                Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) and of any other 
                Act that are administered by the Center for Veterinary 
                Medicine of the Food and Drug Administration;
                    (C) the Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 
                451 et seq.);
                    (D) the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 
                et seq.);
                    (E) the Egg Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 1031 
                et seq.);
                    (F) the Sanitary Food Transportation Act of 1990 
                (49 U.S.C. App. 2801 et seq.);
                    (G) the provisions of the Humane Methods of 
                Slaughter Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-448) administered 
                by the Food Safety and Inspection Service;
                    (H) the provisions of this Act; and
                    (I) such other provisions of law related to and 
                requiring food safety, labeling, inspection, and 
                enforcement as the President designates by Executive 
                order as appropriate to include within the jurisdiction 
                of the Administration.
            (16) Foreign food establishment.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``foreign food 
                establishment'' means a slaughterhouse, factory, 
                warehouse, or facility located outside the United 
                States that processes food that is imported into the 
                United States without further processing or packaging 
                inside the United States.
                    (B) Further processing or packaging.--A food shall 
                not be considered to have undergone further processing 
                or packaging solely because labeling was added or a 
                similar activity of a de minimis nature was carried out 
                with respect to the food.
            (17) Interstate commerce.--The term ``interstate commerce'' 
        has the meaning given that term in section 201(b) of the 
        Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321(b)).
            (18) Misbranded.--The term ``misbranded'' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 403 of the Federal Food, Drug, and 
        Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 343).

Other Popular 106th Congressional Bills Documents:

Other Documents:

106th Congressional Bills Records and Documents