Washington, D.C. " R-CALF USA has thoroughly analyzed the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 (H.R. 2749) passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and has determined that it fails to address the three fundamental failures of the nation's current food safety system that are causing a marked increase in food-born illnesses. Formal correspondence explaining the group's concerns and recommendations regarding food safety reform was sent to all 99 U.S. Senators today.
"We have communicated our reasons for opposing H.R. 2749 by explaining the serious and significant flaws in the current U.S. food safety system that the House version would build upon, said R-CALF USA President/Region VI Director Max Thornsberry. "In fact, any attempt to remedy our food safety problems by building upon the three failed components currently in place will have the opposite effect that the House intended.
In its formal letter the group informed U.S. Senators that the United States' food safety problems will persist unless Congress addresses their root causes, which are unique to the United States and are three-fold:
1. Current food policies promote and facilitate the consolidation and contraction of independent farmers and ranchers and this is inherently dangerous to both food safety and food security.
2. Sound U.S food safety standards were weakened when Congress acquiesced to international standards that prohibit it from targeting food safety problems originating in foreign countries with stricter standards " unless Congress first applies the stricter standards to the U.S., regardless of whether the stricter standards are applicable to the U.S. food production system.
3. Congress' adoption of the internationally-touted HACCP [1] food safety system hampers Congress' ability to ensure that even existing food safety requirements are properly followed.
Thornsberry said that R-CALF USA is urging the U.S. Senate to take the following steps to improve food safety:
1. Correct and reverse the three above-listed fundamental deficiencies in our food system that makes genuine food safety in the U.S. unattainable.
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