FDA
TALK PAPER

Food and Drug Administration
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Public Health Service 5600 Fishers Lane Rockville, MD 20857
FDA Talk Papers are prepared by the Press Office to guide FDA personnel in responding with consistency and accuracy to questions from the public on subjects of current interest. Talk Papers are subject to change as more information becomes available. 
 
T97-42                   Lawrence Bachorik   (301) 827-6250
August 29, 1997          
                         Consumer Hotline:   (800) 532-4440
 
 
         FDA PROPOSES LEGISLATION TO IMPROVE FOOD SAFETY
 
     The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today
unveiled legislative proposals to help strengthen the ability of
the Food and Drug Administration to protect the public from
unsafe and unwholesome food products.  The following information
will be useful for answering questions.
     The proposed bill, "The Food Safety Enforcement Enhancement
Act of 1997," would give the FDA the authority to require the
recall of food that presents a threat to the public health.  It
also would allow the FDA to levy civil monetary penalties for
food-related violations of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic
Act.
     These legislative proposals track those pertaining to the
safety of meat and poultry announced today by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture.  Like the USDA, the FDA currently has no
authority to require recalls of food products or to levy civil
monetary penalties for food safety violations.  Under both
proposed bills, penalties could range up to $100,000 for each
violation.
     Currently FDA's enforcement options against unsafe or
mislabeled foods are limited to seeking injunctions or seizure
orders against firms through the U.S. court system.  Recalls are
voluntary on the part of distributing firms and dependent upon
their cooperation.  In cases of uncooperative firms, FDA's only
recourse is to seek injunctions or seizure orders and to issue
publicity about the suspect products.  Under the terms of the
proposed legislation, FDA could order a firm to stop distributing
a food product and require a recall.
     In January, President Clinton announced a food safety
initiative designed to improve the system for detecting outbreaks
of food borne illness, promote research on emerging pathogens
such as E.coli 0157:H7 and Cyclospora, and better educate
consumers and industry on safe food handling practices.  The
President's budget for Fiscal Year 1998 requested $24 million to
fund FDA's portion of this food safety initiative, for which the
Administration has requested a total appropriation of $43
million.
     The Department of Health and Human Services expects to send
food safety legislation to Congress soon.
 
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