Food Safety Bill on President’s Desk for Signature

House lawmakers approved legislation, 215-144, bolstering federal resources to inspect food-production facilities in an effort to help prevent food-borne bacterial contaminations that sicken and kill thousands every year.

Published on December 23, 2010

With the House vote, legislative work is complete on the measure and it will now go to the White House for President Barack Obama's signature.

The food-safety bill would require the Food and Drug Administration to conduct routine inspections of food-production facilities, give the agency authority to force companies to recall contaminated products, set stricter sanitary standards on imported food.

It would strengthen the FDA's ability to force companies to recall contaminated food and impose new safety standards on domestic and foreign food producers.

The legislation enjoys strong support from a wide variety of groups representing processors, farmers, retailers and consumers.