Congressman John Dingell introduced the Food and Drug Administration's Globalization Act in late January 2009, legislation that if passed would help would help ensure the safety of the nation's food, drugs, medical devices and cosmetics and help restore confidence in the safety of the nation's products, according to the American Association for Justice.
The Act adds registration fees for processing plants to provide increased funding for food safety, increases inspections of manufacturing facilities to every four years, including unannounced inspections, increases penalties for noncompliance and increases food-testing for imported products among other safety provisions. The legislation also gives the Food and Drug Administration increased authority to recall products believed to pose a risk to consumers.
"With the onslaught of reports of contaminated spinach, tomatoes, beef, pet food, and now peanut butter, it is clear increased funding and authority is needed at the FDA like Congressman Dingell's legislation provides," said Bill Marler, a food safety attorney and member of the American Association for Justice's Foodborne Illness Litigation Group.
Find the full AAJ article here.