Food "Safety" Bill – Good News! But Your Voice is Still Needed
Citizens for Health
One week ago we alerted you to a well-meaning, but misguided, bill going through a final review by a U.S. Senate committee before going to the floor for a vote. (Click here to read Citizens for Health (CFH) Board Chair Jim Turner's "Food Safety: Congress Loses Its Way").
"The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act" (S. 510) purported to address growing concerns over the state of food safety in the U.S. but, as written, would have actually strengthened the forces that for the past fifty years have led to unsafe, nutritionally compromised food by giving powerful incentives to large, concentrated food manufacturers (the sources of the most significant threats to our food so far) and undercutting producers of healthy foods and organics that are smaller, safer, and often local. It also would have threatened access to dietary supplements that are safe and protected under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) and paved the way for harmonizing our food policies with those of the international Codex Alimentarius.
Score Round 1 for CFH members and allies! We can be thankful this week that our voices were heard and that several positive changes were made to this 'turkey" of a bill.
According to CFH Senior Policy Advisor, James Gormley, the amended version of S. 510 adds three major improvements related to dietary supplements, organics and Codex:
--New language exempts "…any dietary supplement that is in compliance with the requirements of sections 402(g)(2) and 761 of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (21 USC 242(g)(2), 379aa-1)."
--In the case of organics, the new version omits "any requirements that conflict with or duplicate the requirements of the national organic program established under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990…"
--And, regarding Codex, the original S. 510 recommends harmonization while the amended version suggests only that it is to be considered. (While this is a small improvement, CFH opposes harmonization and is still concerned with other language in the bill which may allow harmonization in "through the back door".)
Now, S. 510 must go to the full Senate for passage. Assuming it passes the full Senate, which is 99% likely, both the House-passed and Senate-passed versions will be debated in conference so that an acceptable combined version is approved and ultimately sent to the President.
As consumer grassroots advocates we must remain vigilant since the improvements we've won could be eliminated in conference committee. We also must continue to advocate against the remaining language that still could mandate Codex harmonization (in the Senate version); that could exempt foreign governments (in both versions); and that calls for imposition of martial law via cordoning off potentially affected geographic areas in the case of a perceived food safety threat (in the House version).
We have seen, time and time again, the impact we can have on the decisions of our elected officials. As Margaret Mead once said: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." We must remain actively engaged with our allies and partners on Capitol Hill and with Senator Harkin, even though it has moved out of his committee, if we are to ensure that the final bill meets the standards of the natural health and wellness community.
Send your letter to your Representative and Senators now!
Thanks for staying involved,
The Citizens for Health Team
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