1.This Act may be cited as
the Food Tracking Improvement
Act
.
2.The Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) is amended—
(1)in section 301,
by inserting at the end the following:
(jj)The failure to
comply with any requirement of section 414A (relating to the traceability of
food).
;
and
(2)in chapter IV, by
inserting after section 414 the following:
414A.
(a)Not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment
of this section, the Secretary shall establish a traceability system described
in subsection (b) for all stages of manufacturing, processing, packaging, and
distribution of food.
(b)The traceability system required by subsection (a) shall
require each article of food shipped in interstate commerce to be identified in
a manner that enables the Secretary to retrieve the history, use, and location
of the article through a recordkeeping and audit system, a secure, online
database, or registered identification.
(c)
(1)The Secretary may require that each person required to
identify an article of food pursuant to subsection (b) maintain accurate
records, as prescribed by the Secretary, regarding the purchase, sale, and
identification of the article.
(2)Each
person described in paragraph (1) shall, at all reasonable times, on notice by
a duly authorized representative of the Secretary, allow the representative to
access to each place of business of the person to examine and copy the records
described in paragraph (1).
(3)Each
person described in paragraph (1) shall maintain records as required under this
subsection for such period of time as the Secretary prescribes.
(d)No person shall falsify or misrepresent to any other
person or to the Secretary, any information as to any location at which any
article of food was held.
(e)Alteration or
destruction of recordsNo person shall, without authorization
from the Secretary, alter, detach, or destroy any records or other means of
identification prescribed by the Secretary for use in determining the location
at which any article of food was held.
(f)
(1)In order to assist
the Secretary in implementing the traceability system under subsection (a), the
Secretary shall convene an advisory committee (referred to in this subsection
as the Committee
).
(2)The Committee shall consist of 13 members
appointed by the Secretary which shall include—
(A)an equitable number of food safety and
tracking technology experts, representatives of the food industry, and consumer
advocates; and
(B)officials from the Center for Food Safety
and Applied Nutrition and the Office of Regulatory Affairs of the Food and Drug
Administration and the Agriculture Marketing Service of the Department of
Agriculture.
(3)The
Secretary shall appoint a Chairperson of the Committee.
(4)The Committee shall convene not later than
180 days after the date of enactment of this section and periodically
thereafter at the call of the Chairperson.
(5)
(A)Not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this section, the Committee shall submit to the
Secretary and the Office of the Commissioner a report that describes the
recommendations regarding the most practicable approach to providing for the
traceability of food, including the most efficient means of implementing the
traceback of contaminated foods.
(B)In
developing the report under subparagraph (A), the Committee shall consider the
following approaches to providing for the traceability of food:
(i)A
national database or registry operated by the Food and Drug
Administration.
(ii)Electronic
records identifying each prior sale, purchase, or trade of the food and its
ingredients, and establishing that the food and its ingredients were grown,
prepared, handled, manufactured, processed, distributed, shipped, warehoused,
imported, and conveyed under conditions to ensure the safety of the food. The
records would include an electronic statement with the date of, and the names
and addresses of all parties to, each prior sale, purchase, or trade, and any
other information as appropriate.
(iii)Standardized
tracking numbers on all shipments. These numbers would identify the country of
origin, the unique facility registration number, date of production, and lot
number (if applicable).
(iv)Recall
performance standards for each food or commodity type.
(v)Safeguards for
the combining, repacking, or otherwise mixing of items of food, particularly
fresh produce.
(vi)Other approaches
that enable the reliable tracking of food and food products.
(g)Authorization
of appropriationsFor the purpose of carrying out this section,
there is authorized to be appropriated $40,000,000 for the period of fiscal
years 2009 through
2011.
.