Expanded Food Safety Investigation Act of 2019

To provide the Food and Drug Administration with authority to conduct microbial sampling on concentrated animal feeding operations as necessary to facilitate a foodborne illness outbreak investigation, determine the root cause of an outbreak of foodborne illness, or address other public health needs. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Expanded Food Safety Investigation Act of 2019 2. Microbial sampling on concentrated animal feeding operations (a) In general Chapter IV of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act ( 21 U.S.C. 341 424. Microbial sampling on concentrated animal feeding operations (a) In general The Secretary may request access to a concentrated animal feeding operation in order to conduct microbial sampling, if the Secretary determines that such microbial sampling is necessary in order to facilitate a foodborne illness outbreak investigation, determine the root cause of an outbreak of foodborne illness, or address other public health needs. (b) Granting of reasonable access A concentrated animal feeding operation that receives a request for access under paragraph (a) shall provide reasonable access to the Secretary to conduct such microbial sampling, including sampling of plants, animals, water, and the environment, as the Secretary determines appropriate to address the public health need. Such operation may place reasonable conditions on access to the operation, including by specifying a time, place, and manner for sampling, provided that any such conditions do not prevent the Secretary from conducting appropriate sampling within a reasonable period of time. (c) Authority over foods regulated by the Secretary of Agriculture Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose additional requirements by the Secretary, beyond microbial sampling, with respect to food that is within the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture pursuant to the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act, or the Egg Products Inspection Act. (d) Coordination with other public health agencies The Secretary shall ensure that data collected under this section are made available to the Secretary of Agriculture and relevant State and Federal public health agencies in order to facilitate work in detecting, investigating, or preventing foodborne illness. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the rights and exemptions otherwise available under section 552 of title 5, United States Code. (e) Definition In this section, the term concentrated animal feeding operation . (b) Enforcement Section 301 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act ( 21 U.S.C. 331 (fff) The refusal to provide reasonable access for microbial sampling in accordance with section 424. .

Summary: Expanded Food Safety Investigation Act of 2019 This bill provides that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may, under specified circumstances, request access to a concentrated animal-feeding operation (i.e., a stabled or confined animal-feeding operation) to conduct microbial sampling. Specifically, the bill allows the FDA to request access if the FDA determines that sampling is necessary to facilitate an investigation of a foodborne-illness outbreak, determine the cause of the outbreak, or address other public health needs. The bill provides that such an operation shall be subject to penalties for refusing such a sampling.