Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen and U.S. Representative Annie Kuster have issued a letter to the federal Food and Drug Administration about proposed food safety rules. The New Hampshire lawmakers are concerned about unintended consequences resulting from the 2011 Food Safety and Modernization Act.
Along with three other lawmakers from CT, NY and MO, Shaheen and Kuster led a bipartisan group of 75 legislators in requesting that the FDA engage further with the public before implementing two new food safety rules.
The rules address preventative controls for food production and standards for growing and harvesting. The lawmakers worry that these rules are too ambiguous, and that compliance could severely hinder local farmers and conservation efforts.
Representatives from the FDA did seek public comment at a well-attended event in Hanover, NH this summer. In a letter to FDA commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg, Shaheen, Kuster and others are requesting that the Administration publish a second round of proposed rules based on that feedback, then solicit public comment a second time - before implementing the new rules.
