Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 (bill HR 875).

I received an email about an impending bill in congress related to organic farming, asking for everyone to contact their senators and express their concerns that it would prevent us from having our own gardens at home, and eliminate organic farming. It was sent through the yoga community and stated the following:

US House and Senate are about (in a week and a half) to
> vote on bill that will OUTLAW ORGANIC FARMING (bill HR 875).
> There is an enormous rush to get this into law within the
> next 2 weeks before people realize what is happening.
>
> Main backer and lobbyist is Monsanto – chemical and
> genetic engineering giant corporation (and Cargill, ADM, and
> about 35 other related agri-giants) . This bill will require
> organic farms to use specific
> fertilizers and poisonous insect sprays dictated by the
> newly formed agency to "make sure there is no danger to
> the public food supply". This will include backyard
> gardens that grow food only for a family and not for sales.
>
> If this passes then NO more heirloom clean seeds but only
> Monsanto genetically altered seeds that are now showing up
> with unexpected diseases in humans.


So I did a bit of research and found the bill and a reference to it in www.snopes.com
What this bill is all about is protecting us from the many outbreaks related to food in the recent years due to inadequate sanitation and food handling procedures used at manufacturing plants of food items. Salmonella and E.coli are two of the most common organisms involved and have contaminated peanuts, spinach, alfalfa sprouts, beef, frozen foods and other items.

This report just came out this week from the CDC about all the foodborne illness in the US:

From the Centers for Disease Control
Foodborne illnesses are a major health burden in the United States (1). Most of these illnesses are preventable, and analysis of outbreaks helps identify control measures. Although most cases are sporadic, investigation of the portion that occur as part of recognized outbreaks can provide insights into the pathogens, food vehicles, and food-handling practices associated with foodborne infections. CDC collects data on foodborne disease outbreaks (FBDOs) from all states and territories through the Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System (FBDSS). This report summarizes epidemiologic data on FBDOs reported during 2006 (the most recent year for which data have been analyzed). A total of 1,270 FBDOs were reported, resulting in 27,634 cases and 11 deaths. Among the 624 FBDOs with a confirmed etiology, norovirus was the most common cause, accounting for 54% of outbreaks and 11,879 cases, followed by Salmonella (18% of outbreaks and 3,252 cases). Among the 11 reported deaths, 10 were attributed to bacterial etiologies (six Escherichia coli O157:H7, two Listeria monocytogenes, one Salmonella serotype Enteritidis, and one Clostridium botulinum), and one was attributed to a chemical (mushroom toxin). Among outbreaks caused by a single food vehicle, the most common food commodities to which outbreak-related cases were attributed were poultry (21%), leafy vegetables (17%), and fruits/nuts (16%). Public health professionals can use this information to 1) target control strategies for specific pathogens in particular foods along the farm-to-table continuum and 2) support good food-handling practices among restaurant workers and the public. Source: MMWR June 12, 2009 / 58(22);609-615

You may learn more about this bill on snopes and go directly to the bill in the links below.

http://www.snopes. com/politics/ business/ organic.asp

http://www.govtrack .us/congress/ billtext. xpd?bill= h111-875

Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 (bill HR 875)
Purposes- The purposes of this Act are--

(1) to establish an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services to be known as the ‘Food Safety Administration’ to--

(A) regulate food safety and labeling to strengthen the protection of the public health;

(B) ensure that food establishments fulfill their responsibility to process, store, hold, and transport food in a manner that protects the public health of all people in the United States;

(C) lead an integrated, systemwide approach to food safety and to make more effective and efficient use of resources to prevent food-borne illness;

(D) provide a single focal point within the Department of Health and Human Services for food safety leadership, both nationally and internationally; and

(E) provide an integrated food safety research capability, including internally generated, scientifically and statistically valid studies, in cooperation with academic institutions and other scientific entities of the Federal and State governments;

(2) to transfer to the Food Safety Administration the food safety, labeling, inspection, and enforcement functions that, as of the day before the date of the enactment of this Act, are performed by various components of the Food and Drug Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;

(3) to modernize and strengthen the Federal food safety law to ensure more effective application and efficient management of the laws for the protection and improvement of public health; and

(4) to establish that food establishments have responsibility to ensure that all stages of production, processing, and distribution of their products or products under their control satisfy the requirements of this law.