Food Safety Bill Moving in Congress,

Food Safety Bill Starts to Move in Congress

The House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health held a hearing yesterday on the "Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009." The bill has not yet been filed, so there is no bill number, but it is based largely on HR 759, one of the food safety bills that we alerted our members to before.

The draft bill contains several provisions of concern, including:

· Extending FDA's authority to inspect to farms;
· Directing FDA to develop growing and handling standards for produce;
· Mandating a $1,000 annual registration fee for any facility that manufactures or processes food. Although "farms" are exempt, a farm that also sells processed items such as jams, fermented vegetables, etc. appears to be subject to the fee.

We encourage everyone to call their Representative and talk with the staffer who handles food safety issues. Explain how important local farms and local food sources are to you! Ask your Representative to contact the Committee members on your behalf, urging them to protect small farms and small food processors from these overly burdensome provisions.

More specific talking points will be provided in future alerts.

To find out who represents you, go to www.Congress.org

Take Action: Come to one of the meetings!

WHERE and WHEN:

Tuesday, June 9: Jefferson City, Missouri: Truman Center, 1510 Jefferson Street
Thursday, June 11: Rapid City, South Dakota: Holiday Inn Rapid City, Rushmore Plaza, 505 North Fifth Street
Tuesday, June 16: Albuquerque, New Mexico: Route 66 Casino & Conference Center, 14500 Central Avenue, SW
Thursday, June 18: Riverside, California, location tbd
Thursday, June 25: Raleigh, North Carolina: Jane S. McKimmon Center, 1101 Gorman Street
Saturday, June 27: Jasper, Florida: Hamilton County Extension, 1143 NW US Hwy 41

TIME: Registration starts at 8 am. The meeting is from 9 am - 4 pm

REGISTRATION

1) Pre-register Online: Send an email to NAISSessions@aphis.usda.gov In the subject line of the e-mail, indicate your name and the location of the meeting you plan to attend. If you wish to present public comments, include your name and address in the body of the message.