I would check around to see if this is still a problem. The bill has been amended as follows (Of course, this is just the House bill. The Senate bill could be different, and the two resolved in conference committee, which could rewrite the bill before an up or down vote in both chambers, always an opportunity for mischief):
(1) DEFINITION OF FACILITY- Paragraph (1) of section 415(b) (21 U.S.C. 350d(b)) is amended to read as follows:
‘(1)(A) The term ‘facility’ means any factory, warehouse, or establishment (including a factory, warehouse, or establishment of an importer) that manufactures, processes, packs, or holds food.
‘(B) Such term does not include farms; private residences of individuals; restaurants; other retail food establishments; nonprofit food establishments in which food is prepared for or served directly to the consumer; or fishing vessels (except such vessels engaged in processing as defined in section 123.3(k) of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulations).
I know they imply farms are excluded - that is a gross misdirection -
“(d) Farms- A farm is exempt from the requirements of this Act to the extent such farm raises animals from which food is derived that is regulated under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act, or the Egg Products Inspection Act.”
SEC. 419A. SAFETY STANDARDS FOR PRODUCE AND CERTAIN OTHER RAW AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES.
‘(a) Standards- The Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall establish by regulation scientific and risk-based food safety standards for the growing, harvesting, processing, packing, sorting, transporting, and holding of those types of raw agricultural commodities—
‘(1) that are a fruit, vegetable, nut, or fungus; and
‘(2) for which the Secretary has determined that such standards are reasonably necessary to minimize the risk of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals.
‘(b) Contents- The regulations under subsection (a)—
‘(1) may set forth such procedures, processes, and practices as the Secretary determines to be reasonably necessary—
‘(A) to prevent the introduction of known or reasonably foreseeable biological, chemical, and physical hazards, including hazards that occur naturally, may be unintentionally introduced, or may be intentionally introduced, including by acts of terrorism, into raw agricultural commodities that are a fruit, vegetable, nut, or fungus; and
‘(B) to provide reasonable assurances that such commodity is not adulterated under section 402;
‘(2) may include, with respect to growing, harvesting, processing, packing, sorting, transporting, and storage operations, standards for safety as the Secretary determines to be reasonably necessary;
‘(3) may include standards addressing manure use, water quality, employee hygiene, sanitation and animal control, and temperature controls, as the Secretary determines to be reasonably necessary;
‘(4) may include standards for such other elements as the Secretary determines necessary to carry out subsection (a);
‘(5) shall provide a reasonable period of time for compliance, taking into account the needs of small businesses for additional time to comply;
‘(6) may provide for coordination of education and enforcement activities;
‘(7) shall take into consideration, consistent with ensuring enforceable public health protection, the impact on small-scale and diversified farms, and on wildlife habitat, conservation practices, watershed-protection efforts, and organic production methods;
‘(8) may provide for coordination of education and training with other government agencies, universities, private entities, and others with experience working directly with farmers; and
‘(9) may provide for recognition through guidance of other existing publicly available procedures, processes, and practices that the Secretary determines to be equivalent to those established under paragraph (1).
SEC. 103. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.
(a) Adulterated Food- Section 402 (21 U.S.C. 342), as amended by section 102, is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘(l) If it has been manufactured, processed, packed, transported, or held under conditions that do not meet the standards issued under section 419.’.
(b) Requirements- Chapter IV (21 U.S.C. 341 et seq.), as amended by section 102(b), is further amended by adding at the end the following:
‘SEC. 419. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.
NOTE:(3) may include standards addressing manure use, water quality, employee hygiene, sanitation and animal control, and temperature controls, as the Secretary determines to be reasonably necessary;
In addition to the bill now before the Senate, we have to look at one other thing - The ‘Food Safety Czar’!
It would appear so considering the history of his latest appointment of Michael Taylor, as “Food Czar”. The former Monsanto Executive worked closely for years with the FDA, passing legislation that restricts organic farming. As an attorney for agriculture giant Monsanto, Taylor helped find legal “loopholes” for manufacturers of DDT, PCB’s, pesticides, aspartame and bovine growth hormone, all of which have been found to be harmful for human consumption. Later, he was appointed Policy Chief for the FDA where he was responsible for writing propaganda declaring the safety of bovine growth hormones. From there he went on to push policies which allowed the FDA to sue small dairy farmers.
In addition to the FDA’s Policy Chief, Taylor’s resume includes positions such as Vice President and Chief Lobbyist for Monsanto. His lobbying efforts have done much to hurt small non-commercial farmers, especially those with organic farms. To say the president’s appointing such as individual as “Food Safety Czar” is questionable, would be a gross understatement.
Standards such as the ‘Leafy Green Marketing Agreement’ standard are agricultural killers.
This stuff is CRAZY!
Waxman is a leading proponent of the LGMA.
Check out their checklist and see if you would waste the time trying to produce a crop under it. What price would you expect to pay for meeting those standards?
Checklist:
http://www.caleafygreens.ca.gov/about/documents/LGMAAuditChecklist8-07-08.pdf