[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 140 (Thursday, September 20, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S11859]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mr. Kohl, and Mr. Durbin):
  S. 2077. A bill to establish a program to assure the safety of fresh 
produce intended for human consumption, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, a year ago, there was a large-scale 
outbreak of food-borne illness caused by a virulent strain of E. coli 
in fresh bagged spinach. More than 200 people became ill, and three 
died. Since then, U.S. consumers have been bombarded with news of 
repeated cases of contaminated food--everything from peanut butter to 
seafood to pet food. Just this week, there was a recall of a Dole 
bagged salad product because of E. coli contamination.
  We need to restore the public's confidence in American fresh produce 
and the agency that regulates it. To that end, I am introducing the 
Fresh Produce Safe Act of 2007. My colleague Senator Kohl has joined me 
in co-sponsoring this legislation, and our aim is to create, for the 
first time, an effective national food safety framework for all fresh 
produce.
  Industry groups are acutely aware of the need to restore consumer 
confidence. For instance, the California leafy green produce industry 
has come up with a marketing agreement to certify the safety of its 
products. The Florida tomato industry has pushed the State to inspect 
and regulate its products. But this regional, patchwork approach is 
simply not adequate. We need a national program to ensure the safety of 
all fresh produce all across the country.
  Under the Fresh Produce Safety Act, FDA would have the authority to 
require produce companies to follow commonsense food safety guidelines. 
Those guidelines currently are only voluntary. Now, obviously, it would 
be a waste of resources to require the same stringent controls for, 
say, apples that we would require for leafy green produce. That is why 
the bill requires FDA to establish national standards tailored to 
specific types of produce and the particular risk factors arising from 
the way each is grown and handled. The legislation also requires 
stepped-up inspections of operations that grow and process fresh 
produce, such as spinach or lettuce.
  Other key provisions of the bill include a surveillance system to 
identify and stop the sources of fresh produce contamination, and a 
research program to better understand and prevent contamination of 
produce. The legislation would also require FDA to write rules to 
ensure that imported produce has been grown and processed under the 
same standards that we will have in the United States.
  The Fresh Produce Safety Act is timely for another reason. Eating 
fruits and vegetables promotes lower body weight, stronger bones, and 
lower risk of developing diet-related diseases such as diabetes. In 
recent years, major efforts and investments have encouraged people to 
eat these healthful foods. It can only turn people away from healthy 
eating to have continuous instances of E. coli contamination and fresh 
produce recalls.
  The American people need to have confidence that their fruits and 
vegetables are produced and handled in a safe and wholesome manner. 
That is exactly the goal of the Fresh Produce Safety Act.
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