Draconian recipe for ‘food safety’
Balking at a "no amendments" provision, rural representatives in the House on Wednesday narrowly defeated a bill to empower the Food and Drug Administration to set new safety standards for growing and processing food, requiring sharply increased inspections.
Democrats did pass the bill Thursday, 283-14 -- while still blocking Republican amendments -- after those rural lawmakers won concessions that would exempt farms from paying a registration fee, curb the FDA's access to farm records, and limit its ability to set production standards to include only the foods most likely to be contaminated.
Food cantamination is a serious concern. But so can be the unintended consequences of bureaucratic overreaching.
The Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance warned the bill as originally drafted claimed to exempt "farms," but that "The agency has defined 'farm' narrowly, and people making foods such as jam, cheese, or canned vegetables for local markets would be required to register and pay" a $500 annual fee.
"This could drive start-up and small producers out of business during difficult economic times," the Alliance warned. "Facilities are also subject to extensive record-keeping and paperwork requirements. ... This is likely to lead to regulations based on the practices of huge, industrial facilities, and that will be impractical and counterproductive for small, diversified farms."
The California Farm Bureau still opposes the measure, pointing out farmers could face Draconian $20,000-a-day penalties for mere record-keeping violations.
Senate action is expected later this year. Senators should read this proposal -- carefully -- before authorizing Washington's next costly regulatory boondoggle.
