Lawmakers, industry members debate proposal for single safety agency
The idea of a new, single agency charged with ensuring that everything Americans eat is held to the same safety standards isn't new, but lawmakers and food industry members are evaluating the concept with greater urgency in the wake of recent terrorist attacks in the U.S.
"The time couldn't be better to move this forward, because we've now moved our focus from food safety to include food security," said Sen. Richard Durban, D-Ill., who along with Sens. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., introduced the Safe Food Act in October. "Even if the terrorists were put out of business, a single food-safety agency would be the right way to go."