Last-Minute Washington Back-Room Dealing on Food Safety Bill

[Guest guest]

The Alliance for Natural Health -- a trustworthy,

smart, sane and hardworking group -- has just sent an up-to-the-minute post. Congress

sneaked the Food “Safety” Bill into a completely unrelated bill that

is likely to be passed. Yet, it should NOT be passed—not with the Food “Safety”

Bill now lurking under its auspices! Please click on the link below to sign the

petition provided by the Alliance for Natural Health.

Below the link is a copy of the shorter, personalized

letter I wrote my Senators. Feel free to use it.

—Nenah

Last-Minute Washington Back-Room

Dealing on Food Safety

We may have only one more chance to keep the dreadful so-called “food

safety” language from becoming law through a legislative subterfuge. We

have (quite literally!) up-to-the-minute information for you.

You can write your Senators

something like this:

Dear ________:

I was shocked to learn that the Continuing Resolution passed by the

House on December 8 included the language of the Senate Food “Safety”

Bill! Also, I understand the Senate will soon take up this matter, either as a

CR or in a new omnibus bill--which also contains the food safety language. It's

underhanded and corrupt that the food safety language was sneaked into a bill

designed to keep the government funded temporarily. Expanded FDA powers and

unfair treatment of small farmers have NOTHING to do with emergency government

funding!

This Food “Safety” Bill will not make our food one bit

safer, but will forever transform the food and farming industries for the

worse, through its devastating effect on small food producers, like organic

farms or mom-and-pop roadside stands.

I am pleased that the exemption for supplements from Codex language and

the Tester amendment that protects small farms from some of the bill's

provisions. However, under this bill, the inspector can detain any product if

he or she “has reason to BELIEVE that such article is adulterated or

misbranded.” The bill also gives the FDA power to confiscate product if,

when inspecting a facility, it merely BELIEVES that an item is misbranded: no

concrete evidence is required! This is outrageous. Since when was law based on

BELIEF?

This bill also allows the FDA to shut down a facility, without any

opportunity for the company to appeal--thus being completely at the mercy of an

FDA inspector's whim.

Plus, the FDA will be so bogged down inspecting all the smaller

operations that they won't have time to focus on the big guys--where the actual

food safety problems arise. And the COST for the additional 5,000 employees the

FDA will need to do these inspections is prohibitive. Don't you think our money

could be better spent elsewhere?

The FDA currently has all the regulatory authority it needs to keep our

nation's food safe. More to the point, the FDA needs to focus on large

producers--not on small farmers and businesses.

So please remove the food safety language from the final bill, whether

it is the continuing resolution or the omnibus bill that Sen. Inouye is

offering as a substitute.

Thank you for your time.

[Guest guest]

Thanks fort sending this. Each time they try to put it through it gets defeated, It seems that the ig agribusiness or big pharma or whoever is sponsoring this needs to give it a rest!

I will definitely do my part.

Angie

Subject: Last-Minute Washington Back-Room Dealing on Food "Safety" BillTo: "Nenah Sylver" Date: Tuesday, December 14, 2010, 5:52 PM

The Alliance for Natural Health -- a trustworthy, smart, sane and hardworking group -- has just sent an up-to-the-minute post. Congress sneaked the Food “Safety†Bill into a completely unrelated bill that is likely to be passed. Yet, it should NOT be passed—not with the Food “Safety†Bill now lurking under its auspices! Please click on the link below to sign the petition provided by the Alliance for Natural Health.