[OKC] Food Safety Bill - HR 875

[Shauna Struby]

FYI -- From Doug Walton at the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture on HR
875 . excellent analysis.

 

Hi all,

 

I've had several recent queries about a current bill within the U.S. House,
so I've done some digging to try and get up to speed while hopefully
shedding some mostly objective light on the matter.

 

>From reading through HR 875 - The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009,
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.875.IH:, and reading many
other comments and commentary about it, a big concern with the bill is its
one-size-fits-all approach to regulating food safety... especially for
dairies selling raw milk products, meat producers who process at the farm,
and other small-scale food processors,
<http://www.ftcldf.org/news/news-02mar2009.htm>
http://www.ftcldf.org/news/news-02mar2009.htm.  But, there would also be
inspection and other requirements for all farms.

HR 875 does not ban organic farming, as has been reported through several
postings and blogs, but its language is quite broad regarding "preventive
process controls to reduce adulteration of food."  Some opponents fear that
this could mean that organic growers will be made to spray / use chemicals
to prevent foodborne contaminants on or in their crops.  My sense is that
this is unlikely, given that synthetic chemicals are banned by federal law
for use by certified organic growers.  How it could affect growers who
aren't certified org. is less clear. 

 

This bill putting an end to farmers' markets, which has also been claimed,
seems unlikely as well.  But, the legislation does include provisions which
could place undo burdens on small growers regarding assessment of food
safety hazards within their operations, especially for diversified growers
with livestock and crop production.

 

Another concern with HR 875 is its heavy emphasis on microbial
contamination, to the exclusion of any other potential food safety or
contamination issue, or any practice that might be considered improper or
excessive -- such as pesticide over- or mis-usage.


Some suggested provisions with this or any other comprehensive food safety
bill include making exceptions and allowances for small-scale diversified
farms and market garden operations, who'd likely incur a significant burden
by having to comply with regulations which should be intended for reducing
foodborne threats from an industrial food system.  

 

For an excellent summary and background on HR 875, from a group who pays
close attention to food safety and industrial ag, I recommend reading
through this piece,
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/food/foodsafety/background-on-h-r-875

 

The Organic Consumers Association also has some helpful info about the bill
here, http://capwiz.com/grassrootsnetroots/issues/alert/?alertid=12878056

 

There are also a few other food safety bills in congress at this time. Check
here,  <http://www.lavidalocavore.org/showDiary.do?diaryId=1147>
http://www.lavidalocavore.org/showDiary.do?diaryId=1147 for a locavore's
perspective and more info about them.

 

And lastly, for some insightful perspectives on food safety hazard analysis
and GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) from a couple organic / sustainable
grower organizations, see this page and those it links to,
http://www.nofa.org/policy/safety.php

Doug


Doug Walton
Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture
PO Box 588
Poteau, OK  74953
 <http://www.kerrcenter.com/> www.kerrcenter.com
 <http://www.buyfreshbuylocalok.com/> www.BuyFreshBuyLocalOK.com
 <mailto:doug.walton at suddenlink.net> doug.walton at suddenlink.net
918-686-6939 work/home

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