[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 17179-17180]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       FOOD SAFETY SYSTEM REFORM

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Madam President, I am here to talk briefly today about 
food safety, something about which I care deeply. As you probably know, 
the last few food epidemics, from the jalapeno peppers to peanut 
butter, would not have been solved except for the hard work of the 
University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Health, which 
is a model for how we can solve these epidemics. Thirteen people died 
with the last peanut butter one. It was only when someone died and was 
sick in Minnesota that it got solved.

[[Page 17180]]

  Clearly, while we are proud of the work we do, we have to bring out 
this model nationally. I am proud to be doing a bill with Senator 
Chambliss to try to bring out this model for the rest of the country.
  I do note today that the Washington Post has a strong editorial 
recommending we do something to improve the food safety of this Nation. 
I think it is worth reading that editorial. They are talking about the 
need to get something done. Just this week, the White House came out 
with its food safety recommendations which include, as I said, building 
a new national trace-back and response system, including clear industry 
guidance, a new unified incidence command system, and improved use of 
technology to deliver individual food safety alerts to consumers. We 
can truly do better.
  There is also a bill--the bill Senator Chambliss and I have sponsored 
focuses on the end of this problem when a foodborne illness is out 
there--there is also a bill to prevent it in the first place, a 
bipartisan bill in the Senate. Senator Dick Durbin is heading up that 
bill, along with Judd Gregg, Ted Kennedy, Richard Burr, Chris Dodd, and 
Lamar Alexander, and Senator Chambliss and I are also sponsors of that 
legislation. The idea of that legislation is to beef up the FDA to 
improve our capacity to prevent food safety problems.
  As we all know, the tragedy that happened in Georgia where the 
information did not get to the right people, where inspectors had come 
in or not enough inspections had come in--the information did not get 
up the food chain, so to say. No one knew what was going on, that there 
were violations at this plant, and 13 people died. That has to change.
  We also have to improve our capacity to detect and respond with 
inspections, surveillance, and traceability. We also have in this bill 
ways to enhance U.S. food defense capabilities and to increase FDA 
resources. We have seen just recently the problem with the refrigerator 
cookie dough manufactured by Nestle. So we know this problem has not 
ended and it continues.
  I am urging the Senate to take action, first of all, on the Food 
Safety Modernization Act of 2009, the bipartisan bill, to give the FDA 
more tools to do what it does. We have already seen the good work the 
Agriculture Department does with certain fields, and we need to build 
on this work and make sure we are able to catch these things before 
they get out into the food stream and the people of our country. 
Secondly, when it does happen, when salmonella or something does get 
out there, we have to respond quickly.
  I also urge the Senate, as part of these FDA measures, to pass the 
Food Safety Rapid Response Act, a bill I have with Senator Chambliss. 
This is a smart bill. It uses these models of epidemiology tools that 
should be used all over the country.
  It should not have to be the case that people have to get sick in 
Minnesota before we solve this problem. According to the Centers for 
Disease Control, foodborne disease causes about 76 million illnesses, 
325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the United States every 
year.
  We should not wait. We should be acting on these two bills. We have a 
full agenda, but we have before us two bills that have bipartisan 
support. We have not heard people attacking them. They are the way to 
go. We have food industry people involved in both of these bills who 
also want to get them passed. Obviously, they do not want to keep 
losing profits because of food scares across this country. Let's get 
these bills done and improve our food safety system in the United 
States of America.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from South Dakota.

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