Senate Passage of S. 510 (Nov. 30, 2010)

(Senate approves on 73-25 vote, Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010; bill must be reconciled with 2009 House-passed version - the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009; purported purpose of the law is to give Food and Drug Association (FDA) authority to oversee food marketplace; FDA given mandatory recall authority except over alcoholic beverages; FDA given authority to specify production methods for fruits and vegetables via regulations that would govern such things soil and water usage, hygiene practices, packing of products, and storage temperatures; bill calls for heightened inspections (to increase by a factor of seven over the next five years) of "food facilities" to be paid for by a tax on such facilities, and strict record-keeping requirements; bill requires all "food facilities" to produce "risk-based" preventative controls and undertake periodic hazard analyses; bill's provisions inapplicable to meat, poultry and dairy products; Congressional Budget Office estimates bill requires additional spending of $1.4 billion over the next four years; costs to private sector not yet estimated; legislation passed despite data showing incidence of food-borne illnesses dropping by one-third over the past 14 years).