Safe Food Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1995 To establish the Food Safety Administration to protect the public health by preventing foodborne illness, ensuring the safety of food, improving research on contaminants leading to foodborne illness and the chronic health outcomes associated with foodborne illnesses, improving the sur- veillance of foodborne pathogens (including foodborne pathogens identi- fied as antibiotic resistant), and improving security of food from inten- tional contamination, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 26, 2019 Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re- ferred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To establish the Food Safety Administration to protect the public health by preventing foodborne illness, ensuring the safety of food, improving research on contaminants leading to foodborne illness and the chronic health out- comes associated with foodborne illnesses, improving the surveillance of foodborne pathogens (including foodborne pathogens identified as antibiotic resistant), and improv- ing security of food from intentional contamination, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:24 Jul 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1995.IS S1995 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1995 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2 ‘‘Safe Food Act of 2019’’. 3 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 4 this Act is as follows: 5 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings; purposes. Sec. 3. Definitions. TITLE I—ESTABLISHMENT OF FOOD SAFETY ADMINISTRATION Sec. 101. Establishment of Food Safety Administration. Sec. 102. Consolidation of separate food safety and inspection services and agencies. Sec. 103. Additional duties of the Administration. TITLE II—ADMINISTRATION OF FOOD SAFETY PROGRAM Sec. 201. Administration of national program. Sec. 202. Registration of food facilities. Sec. 203. Preventive process controls to reduce adulteration of food. Sec. 204. Performance standards for contaminants in food. Sec. 205. Inspections of food facilities. Sec. 206. Food production establishments. Sec. 207. Federal and State cooperation. Sec. 208. Foreign supplier verification program. Sec. 209. Imports. Sec. 210. Traceback. Sec. 211. Food safety technology. TITLE III—RESEARCH AND EDUCATION Sec. 301. Public health assessment system. Sec. 302. Public education and advisory system. Sec. 303. Research. TITLE IV—ENFORCEMENT Sec. 401. Prohibited acts. Sec. 402. Mandatory recall authority. Sec. 403. Injunction proceedings. Sec. 404. Civil and criminal penalties. Sec. 405. Presumption. Sec. 406. Whistleblower protection. Sec. 407. Administration and enforcement. Sec. 408. Citizen civil actions. TITLE V—IMPLEMENTATION Sec. 501. Definition. Sec. 502. Reorganization plan. Sec. 503. Transitional authorities. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:24 Jul 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S1995.IS S1995 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1995 IS Sec. 504. Savings provisions. Sec. 505. Conforming amendments. Sec. 506. Additional technical and conforming amendments. Sec. 507. Regulations. Sec. 508. Authorization of appropriations. Sec. 509. Limitation on authorization of appropriations. SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 1 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 2 (1) the safety of the food supply of the United 3 States is vital to the public health, to public con- 4 fidence in the food supply, and to the success of the 5 food sector of the Nation’s economy; 6 (2) lapses in the protection of the food supply 7 and loss of public confidence in food safety are dam- 8 aging to consumers and the food industry, and place 9 a burden on interstate commerce; 10 (3) the safety and security of the food supply 11 requires an integrated, systemwide approach to pre- 12 venting foodborne illness, a thorough and broad- 13 based approach to basic and applied research, and 14 intensive, effective, and efficient management of the 15 Nation’s food safety program; 16 (4) the task of preserving the safety of the food 17 supply of the United States faces tremendous pres- 18 sures with regard to— 19 (A) emerging pathogens and other con- 20 taminants and the ability to detect all forms of 21 contamination; 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:24 Jul 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1995.IS S1995 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1995 IS (B) an aging and immune-compromised 1 population, with a growing number of people at 2 high risk for foodborne illnesses, including in- 3 fants and children; 4 (C) a concern regarding food fraud for eco- 5 nomic gain, especially with mislabeling and in- 6 tentionally misleading claims; 7 (D) an increasing volume of imported food, 8 without adequate monitoring and inspection; 9 and 10 (E) maintenance of rigorous inspection of 11 the domestic food processing and food service 12 industries; 13 (5) Federal food safety standard setting, in- 14 spection, enforcement, and research efforts should be 15 based on the best available science and public health 16 considerations and food safety resources should be 17 systematically deployed in ways that most effectively 18 prevent foodborne illness; 19 (6) the Federal food safety system is frag- 20 mented, with at least 15 Federal agencies sharing 21 responsibility for food safety, and operates under 22 laws that do not reflect current conditions in the 23 food system or current scientific knowledge about 24 the cause and prevention of foodborne illness; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:24 Jul 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1995.IS S1995 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1995 IS (7) the fragmented Federal food safety system 1 and outdated laws preclude an integrated, system- 2 wide approach to preventing foodborne illness, to the 3 effective and efficient operation of the Nation’s food 4 safety program, and to the most beneficial deploy- 5 ment of food safety resources; 6 (8) the National Academy of Sciences rec- 7 ommended in the report ‘‘Ensuring Safe Food from 8 Production to Consumption’’ that Congress establish 9 by statute a unified and central framework for man- 10 aging Federal food safety programs, and rec- 11 ommended modifying Federal statutes so that in- 12 spection, enforcement, and research efforts are 13 based on scientifically supportable assessments of 14 risks to public health; and 15 (9) the lack of a single focal point for food safe- 16 ty leadership in the United States undercuts the 17 ability of the United States to exert food safety lead- 18 ership internationally, which is detrimental to the 19 public health and the international trade interests of 20 the United States. 21 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 22 (1) to establish a single agency to be known as 23 the ‘‘Food Safety Administration’’ to— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:24 Jul 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1995.IS S1995 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1995 IS (A) regulate food safety and related label- 1 ing to strengthen the protection of the public 2 health; 3 (B) ensure that food facilities fulfill their 4 responsibility to produce food in a manner that 5 protects the public health of all people in the 6 United States; 7 (C) lead an integrated, systemwide ap- 8 proach to food safety and to make more effec- 9 tive and efficient use of resources to prevent 10 foodborne illness; 11 (D) provide a single focal point for food 12 safety leadership, both nationally and inter- 13 nationally; and 14 (E) provide an integrated food safety re- 15 search capability, utilizing internally generated, 16 scientifically and statistically valid studies or 17 other food safety initiatives, in cooperation with 18 academic institutions, food safety nonprofit or- 19 ganizations, and other scientific entities of the 20 Federal and State governments, to achieve the 21 continuous improvement of research on 22 foodborne illness and contaminants; 23 (2) to transfer to the Food Safety Administra- 24 tion the food safety, labeling, inspection, and en- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:24 Jul 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1995.IS S1995 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1995 IS forcement functions that, as of the day before the 1 date of enactment of this Act, are performed by 2 other Federal agencies; and 3 (3) to modernize and strengthen the Federal 4 food safety laws to achieve more effective application 5 and efficient management of the laws for the protec- 6 tion and improvement of public health. 7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 8 In this Act: 9 (1) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘‘Administra- 10 tion’’ means the Food Safety Administration estab- 11 lished under section 101(a)(1). 12 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 13 trator’’ means the Administrator of Food Safety ap- 14 pointed under section 101(a)(3). 15 (3) ADULTERATED.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘adulter- 17 ated’’ has the meaning given the term in— 18 (i) section 402 of the Federal Food, 19 Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 342) 20 for food regulated under such Act; 21 (ii) section 1(m) of the Federal Meat 22 Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601(m)) for 23 food regulated under such Act; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:24 Jul 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1995.IS S1995 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1995 IS (iii) section 4(g) of the Poultry Prod- 1 ucts Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 453(g)) for 2 food regulated under such Act; and 3 (iv) section 4(a) of the Egg Products 4 Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 1033(a)) for 5 food regulated under such Act. 6 (B) INCLUSION.—In applying the defini- 7 tions cited in subparagraph (A), poisonous or 8 deleterious substances in food shall be treated 9 as an added substance if the poisonous or dele- 10 terious substances are known to cause serious 11 illness or death in persons, including in sen- 12 sitive populations. 13 (4) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 14 meaning given the term in section 551 of title 5, 15 United States Code. 16 (5) CATEGORY 1 FOOD FACILITY.—The term 17 ‘‘category 1 food facility’’ means a facility that 18 slaughters animals for food. 19 (6) CATEGORY 2 FOOD FACILITY.—The term 20 ‘‘category 2 food facility’’ means a facility that proc- 21 esses— 22 (A) raw meat, poultry, or seafood in a 23 manner that may reduce but is not validated to 24 destroy contaminants; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:24 Jul 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1995.IS S1995 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1995 IS (B) other products that the Administrator 1 determines by regulation to be at high risk of 2 contamination. 3 (7) CATEGORY 3 FOOD FACILITY.—The term 4 ‘‘category 3 food facility’’ means a facility— 5 (A) that processes meat, poultry, or sea- 6 food, or other products that the Administrator 7 determines by regulation to be at high risk of 8 contamination; and 9 (B) whose processes include one or more 10 steps validated to destroy contaminants. 11 (8) CATEGORY 4 FOOD FACILITY.—The term 12 ‘‘category 4 food facility’’ means a facility that proc- 13 esses food but is not a category 1, 2, or 3 food facil- 14 ity. 15 (9) CATEGORY 5 FOOD FACILITY.—The term 16 ‘‘category 5 food facility’’ means a facility that 17 stores, holds, or transports food prior to delivery for 18 retail sale. 19 (10) CONTAMINANT.—The term ‘‘contaminant’’ 20 includes biological, chemical, physical, or radiological 21 hazards, natural toxins, pesticides, drug residues, 22 decomposition, parasites, allergens, and unapproved 23 food or color additives. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:24 Jul 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1995.IS S1995 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1995 IS (11) CONTAMINATION.—The term ‘‘contamina- 1 tion’’ refers to a presence of a contaminant in food, 2 which may occur naturally or be introduced into a 3 food. 4 (12) FEED FACILITY.—The term ‘‘feed facility’’ 5 means a domestic or foreign feed manufacturer, 6 processor, packer, warehouse, or other facility that— 7 (A) if operating in the United States, man- 8 ufactures, slaughters, processes, or holds animal 9 feed or feed ingredients; or 10 (B) if operating elsewhere, manufactures, 11 slaughters, processes, or holds animal feed or 12 feed ingredients intended for consumption in 13 the United States. 14 (13) FOOD.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘food’’ 16 means a product intended to be used for food 17 or drink for a human or an animal. 18 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘food’’ in- 19 cludes any product (including a meat food prod- 20 uct, as defined in section 1(j) of the Federal 21 Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601(j))), capa- 22 ble for use as human and animal food that is 23 made in whole or in part from any animal, in- 24 cluding cattle, sheep, swine, goat, or poultry (as 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:24 Jul 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1995.IS S1995 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1995 IS defined in section 4 of the Poultry Products In- 1 spection Act (21 U.S.C. 453)), and animal feed. 2 (14) FOOD FACILITY.— 3 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘food facil- 4 ity’’ means a domestic or foreign food manufac- 5 turer, slaughterhouse, processor, packer, ware- 6 house, or other facility that— 7 (i) if operating in the United States, 8 manufactures, slaughters, processes, or 9 holds food or food ingredients; or 10 (ii) if operating outside the United 11 States, manufactures, slaughters, proc- 12 esses, or holds food intended for consump- 13 tion in the United States. 14 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—For the purposes of 15 registration, the term ‘‘food facility’’ does not 16 include— 17 (i) a farm, restaurant, other retail 18 food establishment, or nonprofit food es- 19 tablishment in which food is prepared for 20 or served directly to the consumer; or 21 (ii) a fishing vessel (other than a fish- 22 ing vessel engaged in processing, as that 23 term is defined in section 123.3(k) of title 24 21, Code of Federal Regulations). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:24 Jul 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1995.IS S1995 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1995 IS (15) FOOD PRODUCTION ESTABLISHMENT.— 1 The term ‘‘food production establishment’’ means 2 any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture fa- 3 cility, or confined animal-feeding operation. 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