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Food Safety Modernization Act Signed by President

On January 4th, the President signed the Food Safety Modernization Act, with the Boxer amendment that strips the bill of wildlife-threatening enforcement against “animal encroachment” of farms.  Instead, it will require FDA to apply sound science to any requirements that might impact wildlife and wildlife habitat on farms.

The Tester-Hagan amendment protecting small farms was also included. 

Specific to conservation-based agriculture, the main text of the bill states that rulemaking will “take into consideration … conservation and environmental practice standards and policies established by Federal natural resource conservation, wildlife conservation, and environmental agencies; and in the case of production that certified organic, not include any requirements that conflict with or duplicate the requirements of the national organic program.”

Other amendments included in the Act are:

(1) An amendment by Senators Jon Tester (D-MT) and Kay Hagan (D-NC) gives very small farms and food processing facilities as well as direct-market farms who sell locally the option of complying with state regulation or with modified, scale-appropriate federal regulation.

(2) Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) to provide for a USDA-delivered competitive grants program for food safety training for farmers, small processors and wholesalers.  The training projects will prioritize small and mid-scale farms, beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers, and small food processors and wholesalers.  The grant program will be administered by USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture.
 
(3) Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) to reduce unnecessary paperwork and excess regulation required under the preventative control plan and the produce standards sections of the bill.  FDA is instructed to provide flexibility for small processors including on-farm processing, to minimize the burden of compliance with regulations, and to minimize the number of different standards that apply to separate foods.  FDA will also be prohibited from requiring farms and other food facilities to hire consultants to write food safety plans.   The Bennet amendment applies to all small farms and processors, not just those who direct market within 400 miles of their farms.

(4) Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for farms that engage in value-added processing or that co-mingle product from several farms  gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to either exempt farms engaged in low or no risk processing or co-mingling activities from new regulatory requirements or to modify particular regulatory requirements for such farming operations.  

(5) Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) will not require small farmers to meet extensive traceability and recordkeeping  if they sell food directly to consumers or to grocery stores and allows labeling that preserves the identity of the farm to satisfy traceability requirements.    The amendment also prevents FDA from requiring any farm from needing to keep records beyond the first point of sale when the product leaves the farm, except in the case of farms that co-mingle product from multiple farms, in which case they must also keep records one step back as well as one step forward.