Associations Testify on Import Safety

WASHINGTON — Several aspects of the proposed Food and Drug Import Safety Act (H.R. 3610) are “unworkable,” Food Marketing Institute testified in a House subcommittee hearing yesterday. The association said it opposes user fees on imports, restricting ports of entry for imported foods, and country-of-origin labeling, saying all three provisions would be costly for retailers and consumers. Jill Hollingsworth, FMI vice president of food safety programs, testified about the success of existing industry initiatives and said government should have a limited role. “It is a domestic and an international problem that the industry and government must address together,” she said. Also, Cal Dooley, president and chief executive officer, Grocery Manufacturers Association, spoke to the subcommittee about that association’s proposal for strengthening food safety, called “The Four Pillars of Imported Food Safety,” which was described in detail in the Sept. 24 issue of SN.

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