The Federal Food Safety Modernization Act passed in the Senate.

Right now, bills are going through both the House and Senate that focus upon insuring that the food we buy to eat is indeed safe for all of us. The Senate just passed its Food Safety Modernization Act, and you can follow its progress here (S.510).

Introduced by Senator Durbin, and passing with bipartisan support, it’s destined to be the first major food safety legislation passed in Congress since 1938’s Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act.

The FSMA expands FDA inspections of food facilities, itemizing a list of 50,000 facilities to be inspected between now and 2015. Additionally, it gives the FDA new powers to recall food; currently, the agency depends in large part upon food suppliers’ voluntarily recalls. However, not everyone is pleased with the new Act.