Bill > HR852

This bill provides the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with expanded authority to conduct microbial sampling at Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) during foodborne illness investigations. Specifically, the bill allows the FDA Secretary to request access to CAFOs to collect samples from plants, animals, water, and the environment when necessary to investigate a foodborne illness outbreak, determine its root cause, or address public health needs. The CAFO must provide reasonable access for sampling, though they can specify the time, place, and manner of sampling, as long as these conditions do not prevent the Secretary from conducting appropriate sampling. The bill includes important limitations: it does not impose additional requirements on food under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture, and it mandates that collected data be shared with relevant agricultural and public health agencies. The bill also creates a new enforcement mechanism, making it a violation to refuse reasonable access for microbial sampling. Importantly, the bill defines a CAFO using existing regulatory language, referring to the definition in federal environmental regulations. This legislation aims to enhance food safety by giving regulators more tools to quickly and effectively investigate potential foodborne illness outbreaks.

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https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/852/all-info