The Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 will more than likely pass in Congress this summer and it grants the FDA expanded authority and resources to better ensure the safety of our food supply.  Clearly the driving force for this Act was the national recall of a wide variety of products containing peanuts sourced from Peanut Corporation of America, contaminated with salmonella.  Currently Nestle has a recall of Toll House Cookie Dough products due to the risk of E.coli contamination.  The very powerful Grocery Manufacturers Association supports the Act.

The Act applies only to food manufacturers, processors, packers or holders and does not apply to dietary supplement manufacturers.

Parallel to the Act, the FDA published in the Federal Register on June 11, 2009 a guidance document on compliance to the Reportable Food Registry as Established by the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act (FDAAA) of 2007.  FDAAA requires that food facilities (manufacturer, processor, packer, holder) register with the FDA and must report to the FDA within 24 hours a “reportable food”.  A “reportable food” is an article of food in which there is reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to will cause serious adverse health consequences.  The FDA is currently establishing a “reportable food electronic portal” that will be available on September 8, 2009 on the FDA web site under the heading “report a problem”.

Click here for a numbered summary of key requirements in the four sections of the Act entitled Prevention, Intervention, Response and Miscellaneous.