Senate Passes S.510 Food Safety Moderniztion Act

Senate passes overhaul of food safety system (Reuters)


Senate Bill 510 could take your garden away

The Senate recently passed Bill S 510, also known as the Food Safety Modernization Act. The bill, from the nickname, seems harmless enough, but this bill means more than its name implies.

This bill will give the government jurisdiction over the growth, sale, trade and transport of foods in a way unlike any before. The passing of this bill would place full and total control over food into the hands of the federal government, and many people, farmers especially, are not happy about it.

This new bill will place a great deal of authority over farmers, and even freelance gardeners simply growing fruits and vegetables in their own backyards. Practices such as saving seeds for use the next year would be prohibited and doing so could result in a federal offense, punishable by fines and prison time. Some speculate that the practice of saving seeds is being banned in order to give seed companies, such as Monsanto, a monopoly over the seed industry.

One of the biggest groups of people to suffer are farmers. Farmers who provide food for their own families, as well as sell their crops at farmer's markets, will now be subjected to the authority of the federal government in regards to their crops, and the sale, and even personal consumption, of said crops. You heard right; it would be against the law to consume food grown in your own garden without the federal government's approval.

This bill affects not only the farmers, but gardening hobbyists, or those hoping to stretch their dollar and make ends meet with a summer garden. You could be committing a federal offense by enjoying some home-grown cucumbers, tomatoes or sweet peas. That apple tree that's been in your backyard for the last decade? You better chop it down, because if you're caught eating from it, you could face criminal charges.

US Senate offices are experiencing a huge backlash of grassroots opposition to the bill -- called the Food Safety Modernization Act -- as virtually every health freedom organization, family farm group and even dietary supplement companies have aligned to oppose this new bill. It is being called "The most dangerous bill in United States history" and would thrust America into a new Dark Ages of FDA tyranny over seeds, foods, herbs, gardens and nutritional supplements. (http://naturalnews.com/030418_Food_...)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03-b1tuCEaA...

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Senate Action on Food Safety Bill Delayed Until Tuesday

Senate action on legislation revamping the nation's food safety laws will be delayed until Tuesday morning.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced Monday afternoon that two amendments (Coburn earmark ban, Coburn substitute that pays for food safety --- neither of which are expected to get the 67 votes needed for passage) and final passage of the food safety legislation will start at 9:00 am Tuesday.

The final bill is expected to pass. The House still must vote on the bill as well but is expected to pass without much difficulty.

Here is a breakdown of some major regulations that will become law if the bill passes:

• Gives the FDA long-sought power to force a company to recall foods believed to be contaminated and to impose fees on those companies under a mandatory recall.

• Authorizes the FDA to impose new fees for reinspecting those facilities and for registering food importers.

• Requires FDA to inspect registered domestic "high risk" food producers (as defined by HHS - parent of FDA) at least once five years after passage of the bill.

• Requires food processors, growers, and importers to meet additional safety requirements for high-risk foods and to meet new safety and security rules for the importation of food.

• Requires companies to turn over test results and other records to federal officials on domestic or imported food items believed to be contaminated.

• Requires imported food suppliers to meet established food safety requirements with a certification.

• Requires food processors to impose and monitor food safety systems...

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