Federal law gives food manufacturers, distributors, and retailers the basic responsibility for assuring that foods are wholesome, safe, and handled under sanitary conditions. A number of federal agencies, cooperating with state, local, and international entities, play a major role in regulating food quality and safety under these laws. The combined efforts of the food industry and the regulatory agencies often are credited with making the U.S. food supply among the safest in the world.

Nonetheless, public health officials estimate that each year 76 million people become sick, 325,000 are hospitalized, and 5,000 die from food borne illnesses caused by contamination from a number of microbial pathogens.

I am concerned that the current entities that deal with food and product safety do not have the resources and structural organization to protect consumers from these dangers. Also at issue is whether federal food safety laws, first enacted in the early 1900s, have kept pace with the significant changes that have occurred in the food production, processing, and marketing sectors.  As a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, I will continue to work to ensure that the United States continues to have the safest food supply in the world.