I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1907 
To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to use consumer 
information maintained by retailers to improve recalls of food, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 2, 2009 
Mr. CASTLE (for himself and Ms. HARMAN) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to 
use consumer information maintained by retailers to im-
prove recalls of food, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improving Commu-
nication with Consumers During Food Recall Act of 
2009’’. 
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SEC. 2. USING CONSUMER INFORMATION MAINTAINED BY 
RETAILERS TO IMPROVE RECALLS OF FOOD. 
(a) PROHIBITED ACT.—Section 301 of the Federal 
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 331) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(oo) The failure to comply with an order issued 
under section 418 (regarding recalls of food).’’. 
(b) RECALL NOTICES.—Chapter IV of the Federal 
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 418. USING CONSUMER INFORMATION MAINTAINED 
BY RETAILERS TO IMPROVE RECALLS OF 
FOOD. 
‘‘(a) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies in the 
case of any recall, whether voluntary or mandatory, of 
food that is adulterated or misbranded in a manner that, 
if consumed, may result in illness or injury. 
‘‘(b) RECALL NOTICE.— 
‘‘(1) RETAILER REQUIREMENTS.—To facilitate 
a recall described in subsection (a), the Secretary 
may by order require any retailer of the food— 
‘‘(A) to inform the Secretary regarding 
whether the retailer has a system in place capa-
ble of identifying the persons who purchased 
the food; and 
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‘‘(B) to issue a recall notice to those per-
sons if the retailer does have such a system in 
place. 
‘‘(2) ISSUANCE
OF
NOTICE.—A recall notice 
issued under paragraph (1) shall— 
‘‘(A) be made in such manner (which may 
include the use of telephone calls or electronic 
mail) and contain such information as the Sec-
retary may require; and 
‘‘(B) be issued by— 
‘‘(i) the retailer; or 
‘‘(ii) a third party selected by the re-
tailer. 
‘‘(c) REIMBURSEMENT.—If the Secretary requires a 
retailer to issue a recall notice for food under subsection 
(b), the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(1) identify the manufacturers, importers, dis-
tributors, or other persons that most likely caused 
the adulteration or misbranding of the food; and 
‘‘(2) by order require such persons to reimburse 
the retailer for any costs incurred to comply with an 
order issued under subsection (b). 
‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This section shall 
not be construed to authorize the Secretary to require any 
retailer— 
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‘‘(1) to establish or maintain a system described 
in subsection (b)(1)(A); or 
‘‘(2) to provide any information on the retailer’s 
customers, inventory, or sales to the manufacturer, 
importer, or distributor of the recalled food or to 
any person required under subsection (c) to pay re-
imbursement.’’. 
Æ 
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