06.01.08
Democratic lawmakers want to make sure people know where their food and drugs come from and the overseas plants producing them are regularly inspected.
Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee proposed Thursday (April 17) that all produce labels be required to show the country of origin. They also want food manufacturers of all kinds to identify on their corporate website where each ingredient in a particular food product originated.
Drug labels also would have to identify the source of a medicine’s active ingredient and its place of manufacture. Labels for all medical devices would have to show country of origin, as well.
The United States imports more than $2 trillion worth of products from more than 150 countries. Lawmakers and the Bush administration say a variety of food and drug safety problems, such as the 62 deaths recently associated with contaminated batches of the blood thinner heparin, point to the need for improved oversight.
The legislation also calls for much more money for the Food and Drug Administration through new fees paid by industry. All food manufacturers serving the U.S. market, whether they are inside or outside the United States, would have to pay $2,000 for each of the manufacturing, distribution and storage facilities they have in operation.
The fees would generate about $600 million annually, which would be used to beef up the Food and Drug Administration. Democratic lawmakers said the agency needs to inspect all foreign and domestic food facilities at least once every four years. Companies that refused to be inspected would not be allowed to ship to the U.S.
—Kevin Freking, The Washington Post, 4/17/08
Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee proposed Thursday (April 17) that all produce labels be required to show the country of origin. They also want food manufacturers of all kinds to identify on their corporate website where each ingredient in a particular food product originated.
Drug labels also would have to identify the source of a medicine’s active ingredient and its place of manufacture. Labels for all medical devices would have to show country of origin, as well.
The United States imports more than $2 trillion worth of products from more than 150 countries. Lawmakers and the Bush administration say a variety of food and drug safety problems, such as the 62 deaths recently associated with contaminated batches of the blood thinner heparin, point to the need for improved oversight.
The legislation also calls for much more money for the Food and Drug Administration through new fees paid by industry. All food manufacturers serving the U.S. market, whether they are inside or outside the United States, would have to pay $2,000 for each of the manufacturing, distribution and storage facilities they have in operation.
The fees would generate about $600 million annually, which would be used to beef up the Food and Drug Administration. Democratic lawmakers said the agency needs to inspect all foreign and domestic food facilities at least once every four years. Companies that refused to be inspected would not be allowed to ship to the U.S.
—Kevin Freking, The Washington Post, 4/17/08