Good news, food safety advocates! The US House of Representatives (yesterday) and, now, the US Senate (today) have passed the Farm Bill by veto-proof margins. Those of you following this site and championing food safety know that this means that critical programs such as the Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank (FARAD) have made it through – with authorization for funding. The battle is not over yet… we still have to get the appropriators to actually fund the programs. But authorization for the funding is a huge first step, and we couldn’t have done it without your help.

From MarketWatch:

“On the heels of a strong vote for passage in the House, senators on Thursday approved a $289 billion, five-year farm bill that is under a presidential veto threat. Senators voted 81-to-15, easily attaining the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto. On Wednesday, House lawmakers voted 318-to-106 to pass the bill, also securing the two-thirds majority needed for an override.”

From NY Times:

“The House overwhelmingly approved a $300 billion farm bill on Wednesday afternoon, making it probable that the measure will become law despite President Bush’s anticipated veto. The 318-to-106 vote, far over the two-thirds needed to override a veto…”

From a press release the AVMA sent out yesterday:

“The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) declared a preliminary victory on several key provisions included in the Farm Bill, applauding Congress and pledging to continue working toward the implementation of unresolved initiatives.

Reaching final negotiation in a joint U.S. House of Representatives and Senate conference committee, the Farm Bill includes legislation on human and animal health that ranges from food safety protection and bioterrorism prevention to the importation of healthy puppies…

Lutschaunig cited the Senate Agriculture Committee for authorizing $2.5 million annually for the Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank (FARAD), a vital resource used to ensure contaminants do not end up in meat, milk and eggs.

The AVMA also commended Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, for drafting language for the National Veterinary Medical Service Act (NVMSA), and Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., for helping insert the Regional Centers of Excellence provision, which includes veterinary medicine. Both provisions made it to the final version of the Farm Bill.”

We’re eagerly awaiting the final outcome of the food safety aspects of the Farm Bill and will keep you informed of any developments. Stay tuned over the next few days for news.

In the meantime, we’ve added some fun stuff to the site -- check out the animated food safety music videos in the Media Gallery. On our YouTube player there, you’ll find three fun food safety parody features created by Dr. Carl Winter of the University of California at  Davis. These parodies – as well as live performances by Dr. Winter – have traveled the country, teaching people young and old about food safety.

Learn more about Dr. Winter’s program at UC Davis here.

Kick back and enjoy the videos. We’ll keep you posted on whether the crucial food safety provisions make it into the Farm Bill or not – and any other news that comes forward.

For the past two weeks, we’ve been telling you how important the Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank (FARAD) is to protecting food safety in our nation. FARAD, for those of you just tuning in, is a primary resource used to ensure contaminants do not end up in meat, milk and eggs.

And if you don’t believe that FARAD is important to all of us, let us share with you a message we received earlier this week from the University of California at Davis, one of FARAD’s operations centers. The message underscores the vital role that FARAD plays every day in the safety of this nation’s food supply. (By the way, if you have similar stories you’d like to share, email them to avmagrd@avma.com).

From the email:

“FARAD recently assisted a veterinarian and producer from Iowa. The case was a herd of beef cattle that were exposed to an organophosphorus insecticide used for corn. Several animals in the herd died, but a portion of the animals lived. The animals that died were sent to the diagnostic laboratory and the organophosphate was detected in the gastrointestinal tract.  Based on information in the literature and data that FARAD had collected from other cases, FARAD was able to make a slaughter withdrawal interval recommendation for the remaining animals.

Due to the scientific data that we have amassed over the years and the historical experience that we have had with similar cases, FARAD was in a unique position to be able to rapidly respond to this contamination case.  Organophosphates can have harmful effects on both humans and animals and compounds in this class have been used as nerve agents in warfare.  FARAD is pleased to be able to assist with keeping the nation's food supply safe and we hope to be able to continue this service in the future.” [Bolding of text added by us.]

Is there any doubt how important FARAD is to protecting our food supply? If not for FARAD, this food source might have easily entered the food chain!

Yet somehow, funding for FARAD is still in limbo – Congress is still being wishy-washy about committing any money to fund this resource!  Only $2.5 million a year! That’s less than 9 cents per person to protect our food supply!

There’s still time to contact your senators and representative and tell them to keep our food safe. Tell them to make sure Authorization for the Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank is included in the Farm Bill. We need your help to protect food safety. Take action today and tell Congress to keep this provision in the Farm Bill.