Franken lauds passage of food safety measure

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U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) lauded the passage of the Food Modernization Act this week, which included a key provision he championed to improve the traceability of tainted foods.

He said it will ensure that contaminated food can be quickly traced and removed from supermarket shelves.

Franken’s work on this issue was inspired by the Almers, a Minnesota family who lost their mother in 2008 after she ate contaminated peanut butter. Tainted peanut products remained in supermarkets for months because the FDA was unable to quickly track or recall the contaminated ingredients under current law. Franken is a cosponsor of the bill and voted for the legislation in the Senate HELP Committee last year.

“People shouldn’t have to worry about the safety of the food they buy for their families,” said Franken. “This bill will give the FDA the authority and resources it needs to ensure our safety and to protect Minnesotans from contaminated food.”

Franken praised the bill’s key provisions, which give the FDA additional authority to trace and recall contaminated food in an effort to combat the nationwide rise in outbreaks of foodborne illness. Each year, there are an estimated 76 million cases of foodborne illness in our country, including at least 5,000 deaths.

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