Congress passes historic food safety bill

From the Union of Concerned Scientists:

Congress has passed a bill that substantially strengthens the FDA's ability to ensure food safety for the first time since 1938. The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act grants the agency the authority it has been lacking to issue mandatory recalls for most tainted foods (particularly relevant in light of recent major outbreaks of foodborne illness), require more frequent inspections of food facilities, and demand accountability from food processors and producers. In a victory for sustainable agriculture, small and direct-to-consumer farms—such as those that sell at local farmers markets—were exempted from much of the law because their practices are not generally associated with food safety problems.