Poll: Americans Want Food Safety Bill 'Now'

SN STAFF

YONKERS, N.Y. — A full 80% of Americans want new food safety legislation passed quickly, a Consumers Union poll shows.

A food safety bill — the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act — has passed the U.S. House but is stalled in the Senate. The proposed legislation would give the U.S. Food & Drug Administration the power to recall food when it posed a danger to health and safety, and it would require the agency to inspect all high-risk food processors at least once a year.

“The overwhelming majority of Americans want Congress to make our food safe now,” said Jean Halloran, director of Food Policy Initiatives for Consumers Union. “Most people are shocked to find out that FDA can’t even order a recall — it must request companies to voluntarily retrieve contaminated food.”

Complete results from the poll, conducted by Consumers Union, non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports, can be found at http://buysafeeatwell.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/FDA-Legislation-June10. doc online.