(1) the safety of the food supply of the United States is vital to the public health, to public confidence in the food supply, and to the success of the food sector of the Nation’s economy;
(2) lapses in the protection of the food supply and loss of public confidence in food safety are damaging to consumers and the food industry, and place a burden on interstate commerce and international trade;
(3) recent ongoing events demonstrate that the food safety program at the Food and Drug Administration is not effective in controlling hazards in food coming from farms and factories in the United States and food and food ingredients coming from foreign countries, and these events have adversely affected consumer confidence;
(4) the safety and security of the food supply require a systemwide approach to prevent food-borne illness involving the integrated efforts of Federal, State and local agencies; a thorough, broad-based, and coordinated approach to basic and applied science; and intensive, effective, and efficient management of the Nation’s food safety program;
(5) the task of preserving the safety of the food supply of the United States faces tremendous pressures with regard to--
(A) emerging pathogens and other contaminants and the ability to detect all forms of contamination;
(B) the threat of intentional contamination of the food supply;
(C) a growing number of people at high risk for food-borne illnesses, including an increasing population of aging and immune-compromised consumers, together with infants and children;
(D) an increasing volume of imported food, without adequate monitoring, inspection, and systems for prevention of food safety problems; and
(E) maintenance of rigorous inspection of the domestic food processing and food service industries;
(6) Federal food safety standard setting, inspection, enforcement, and research efforts should be based on the best available science and public health considerations, and food safety resources should be systematically deployed in ways that most effectively prevent food-borne illness;
(7) the Food and Drug Administration, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, has regulatory jurisdiction over the safety and labeling of 80 percent of the American food supply, encompassing all foods except meat, poultry, and egg products, as well as drugs, medical devices, and biologics;
(8) rapid technological advance and the expansion and globalization of industries in all areas of Food and Drug Administration jurisdiction present challenges and require leadership beyond the capacity of any one agency or agency head to provide;
(9) in the food safety area, the Food and Drug Administration implements provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that are 70 years old and that antiquated law limits the Food and Drug Administration’s role largely to reacting to and correcting food safety problems after they occur, rather than working with the food industry to systematically prevent problems;
(10) the Food and Drug Administration’s effectiveness is further impaired by fragmentation of leadership and management within the Administration, as major food safety responsibilities are dispersed across the Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Center for Veterinary Medicine, and Office of Regulatory Affairs;
(11) there is no official with the full-time responsibility and budget authority for food safety at the Food and Drug Administration and food safety competes unsuccessfully with the drug and medical device programs for senior agency management attention and resources; and
(12) improving Federal oversight of food safety requires a modern food safety mandate, clear authorities, and a dedicated official within the Department of Health and Human Services with budget authority to manage an integrated organizational structure and report directly to the Secretary.
(1) to establish an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services to be known as the ‘Food Safety Administration’ to--
(A) regulate food safety and labeling to strengthen the protection of the public health;
(B) ensure that food establishments fulfill their responsibility to process, store, hold, and transport food in a manner that protects the public health of all people in the United States;
(C) lead an integrated, systemwide approach to food safety and to make more effective and efficient use of resources to prevent food-borne illness;
(D) provide a single focal point within the Department of Health and Human Services for food safety leadership, both nationally and internationally; and
(E) provide an integrated food safety research capability, including internally generated, scientifically and statistically valid studies, in cooperation with academic institutions and other scientific entities of the Federal and State governments;
(2) to transfer to the Food Safety Administration the food safety, labeling, inspection, and enforcement functions that, as of the day before the date of the enactment of this Act, are performed by various components of the Food and Drug Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;
(3) to modernize and strengthen the Federal food safety law to ensure more effective application and efficient management of the laws for the protection and improvement of public health; and
(4) to establish that food establishments have responsibility to ensure that all stages of production, processing, and distribution of their products or products under their control satisfy the requirements of this law.