I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4665
To protect America’s food supply and facilitate lawful importation of safe 
and unadulterated food products. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 23, 2004
Mr. CONYERS (for himself and Ms. HARRIS) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To protect America’s food supply and facilitate lawful 
importation of safe and unadulterated food products.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Importation of Safe Food Act of 2004’’. 
(b) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) The Public Health Security and Bioter-
rorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 
(Public Law 107–188) provided the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services with the authority and
mandate to protect United States borders against 
threats posed by the potential of unsafe food articles 
entering America’s food supply. 
(2) Many legitimate importers of unadulterated 
and safe food articles posing no risk to the health 
or safety of animals or humans will be unable to 
comply with the regulations enacted or proposed to 
be fully enforced by the Secretary as a result of cer-
tain of the requirements placed upon the Secretary 
as set forth in such Act. 
(3) It is incumbent upon the Congress to fully 
enable the Secretary to protect Americans from all 
threats posed or that may potentially be posed by 
food articles entering ports of entry into the United 
States. 
(4) It is equally incumbent upon the Congress 
to ensure that the protections enacted by the Sec-
retary do not unduly and unnecessarily hinder legiti-
mate commercial activity that poses no such threat 
to the health or safety of American consumers or po-
tential consumers. 
SEC. 2. REGISTRATION OF FOOD FACILITIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 415(a) of the Federal 
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 350d(a)), as
added by section 305(a) of Public Law 107–188, is 
amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or for ex-
port from the United States’’ after ‘‘consumption in 
the United States’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (4), by adding at the end the 
following: ‘‘Nothing in this paragraph may be con-
strued as preventing the Secretary from verifying 
compliance with this section.’’. 
(b) IMPORTATION; FAILURE TO REGISTER.—Section 
801(l) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 
U.S.C. 381(l)), as added by section 305(c) of Public Law 
107–188, is amended by striking ‘‘(l)(1) If’’ and all that 
follows through ‘‘has not’’ in the first sentence and insert-
ing the following: ‘‘(l) If an article of food is being im-
ported or offered for import into the United States, and 
the Secretary is unable to verify that the article is from 
a foreign facility for which a registration has’’. 
SEC. 3. PRIOR NOTICE OF IMPORTED FOOD SHIPMENTS. 
Section 801(m) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cos-
metic Act (21 U.S.C. 381(m)), as added by section 307(a) 
of Public Law 107–188, is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), in the first sentence—
(A) by striking ‘‘identity of each of the fol-
lowing:’’ and inserting ‘‘identity of each of the