Tom Harkin: “The exemptions for small farms and facilities in S. 510 do not in any way circumscribe FDA's existing authority under…”

“The exemptions for small farms and facilities in S. 510 do not in any way circumscribe FDA's existing authority under current laws. As my distinguished colleague has just stated, this existing authority is expressly preserved in the savings clauses in the bill. Over the past 15 years, FDA has relied on a number of provisions in existing law in establishing preventive control, or ``HACCP,'' and other preventive requirements for seafood, eggs, and juice. These authorities include section 402(a)(4) of the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, which gives FDA the authority to take action against ``adulterated food'' when that food has been subjected to ``insanitary conditions.'' In adopting these regulations, FDA has also relied on section 701(a) of the food and drug law, which gives it broad authority to issue regulations ``for the efficient enforcement'' of that law, as well as its authority to ``prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases'' under section 361 of the Public Health Service Act.”