And the people have spoken! Well, sort of.

Recently, our federal government took a major step forward by approving the Obama Administration’s food safety recommendations.  The House of Representatives passed H.R. 2749, also known as the “Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009.” 

The Food Safety Enhancement Act significantly increases the authority the Food and Drug Administration to ensure the safety of our food, as well as set regulations for facilities and importers. 

Under this legislation, food facilities are required to conduct a hazard analysis, implement preventative measures and provide a plan in the event of an outbreak.  The Secretary of Health and Human Services (the department that houses the FDA) is given the authority to create a verification program for imported foods and quarantine food in specific geographic areas in the United States in the event of an outbreak.

Additionally, the bill gives the FDA the authority to recall of contaminated food.  Previously, the FDA only had the authority to recommend the recall of a product, but it was up to the manufacturers and distributors to take action.

The FDA is required to provide science-based standards to minimize the hazards from contaminants, create an accreditation program for laboratories to test imported and exported food and establish a national traceback system.  The FDA also has the authority to assess fees related to facility reinspection or recall – a nice little incentive for manufacturers to keep facilities up to date.  Finally, every six to 12 months the agency is required to conduct inspections at high-risk facilities, like processing plants that handle products that spoil easily or facilities with a history of food safety problems.  If an inspection is delayed or refused by any facility, the food is considered to be contaminated, even if it safe to eat. 

It’s important to remember that this legislation only applies to the FDA, and these specific standards don’t apply to meat and poultry, since these products are inspected by the USDA.  But the FDA is responsible for regulating more than 80% of the food we eat, and USDA products have been regulated under tighter standards for a long time.

What’s next for H.R. 2749?  It becomes the supreme law of the land, right?  Not quite.  The bill still needs to pass the Senate, which mostly likely will not hear the issue until this fall.  Stay tuned.  We’ll keep you posted.

Good news! Thanks in part to the hard work and advocacy of our readers, Congress has provided funding for Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank (FARAD) and the National Veterinary Medical Service Act (NVMSA) -- two important programs for keeping our food safe -- in the omnibus spending bill President Obama signed last month.

As we've told you before, FARAD provides information about how to avoid residues of medications and contaminants in food animals, and NVMSA will provide loan repayment for veterinarians who work in underserved areas -- like with the food supply. Both programs are crucial to sustaining and improving the safety of our food supply.

The inclusion of the funding in the spending bill is a victory for both programs. The battle for ongoing funding will eventually begin again, but for now, we can take a breather and focus on other food safety challenges.

Here's what JAVMA News says about the funding of these programs:

"Congress included $2.95 million for NVMSA... In exchange for a commitment to work in underserved areas of veterinary medicine, recipients are granted student loan repayment. The bill was signed into law in 2003, but its implementation has been delayed by the Agriculture Department, which is still in the process of promulgating regulations for the program...

FARAD, a program until recently on the brink of extinction because of insufficient funding, received a desperately needed $806,000 appropriation. A number of organizations including the AVMA had donated more than $16,000 to keep the program running in the short term, but a major cash infusion was needed.

"I am very relieved because we were basically going to have to shut FARAD forever by the end of summer," said Dr. Alistair Webb, one of the program's three directors and a professor at the University of Florida-Gainesville.

The money will keep FARAD going for another year without additional layoffs, Dr. Webb explained."

Millions of people poured into Washington, DC yesterday for the Inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. Of course, we're not telling you anything that you don't already know -- the nation as a whole collectively paused yesterday to soak in the historic moment.

And what a beautiful sight it was here in Washington... people more excited about democracy than at any point in recent history. They're fired up and ready to take action. Ready to get involved and make a difference.

It's great, isn't it? And since that's what we're all about here on Keep Our Food Safe -- advocacy -- we're pretty excited too. We hope you'll stay with us in the months ahead as we continue to champion a safe, healthy and wholesome food supply.

Our latest 'Chew on This' podcast deals with these very issues: advocacy to keep our food safe. What can I do to get the government to care more about food safety? How can I effectively communicate with my elected leaders? What’s the best way to take action? In "Taking Action in Our Democracy," (Part Two) we'll attempt to answer these questions with the help of our expert guest, former US Senator and veterinarian Wayne Allard.

During his two terms in the US Senate, Dr. Allard learned first-hand how advocacy can affect legislation, including food safety. In Part Two of this special two-part podcast, Senator Allard joins us to discuss advocacy tactics and shed light what Congress can do to keep our food safe.

Listen to Part Two of "Taking Action in Our Democracy" now.

If you missed Part One, go here.