I
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3148
To establish food safety research, education, and extension as a priority
of the Department of Agriculture, to require the use of a designated
team within the Department of Agriculture to enable the Department
and other Federal agencies to rapidly respond to food safety emergencies,
and to improve food safety through the development and commercializa-
tion of food safety technology.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 3, 1998
Ms. STABENOW (for herself, Mr. BARCIA, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. KILPATRICK, and
Ms. CARSON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture
A BILL
To establish food safety research, education, and extension
as a priority of the Department of Agriculture, to require
the use of a designated team within the Department
of Agriculture to enable the Department and other Fed-
eral agencies to rapidly respond to food safety emer-
gencies, and to improve food safety through the develop-
ment and commercialization of food safety technology.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Safe Food Action Plan Act’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Food safety research, education, and extension priority.
Sec. 4. Food Safety Rapid Response Team.
Sec. 5. Emphasis on food safety research in Fund for Rural America.
Sec. 6. National Food Safety Research, Education, and Extension Program.
Sec. 7. Development and commercialization of food safety technology.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) While the American food supply is among
the safest in the world, millions of Americans are
stricken by illness every year caused by food they
consume.
(2) An effective food safety strategy must be
developed that encompasses research, educational,
and response efforts along the entire farm-to-table
spectrum and considers research efforts on emerging
food borne illness and related issues at the Depart-
ment of Agriculture and other Federal agencies.
SEC. 3. FOOD SAFETY RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND EXTEN-
SION PRIORITY.
(a) FOOD SAFETY PRIORITY.—The Secretary of Ag-
riculture shall establish the identification and resolution
of food safety issues as a priority for the research, edu-
cation, and extension activities of the Department of Agri-
culture.
(b) MULTIDISCIPLINARY
AND
INTEGRATED
AP-
PROACH.—To the extent practicable, the Secretary of Ag-
riculture shall conduct food safety research, education,
and extension activities on a multidisciplinary and inte-
grated basis.
(c) CONSUMER EDUCATION.—The Secretary of Agri-
culture is encouraged to use the authority under section
3(g) of the Act of May 8, 1914 (commonly known as the
Smith-Lever Act) (7 U.S.C. 343(g)) to enter into coopera-
tive agreements to carry out food safety consumer edu-
cation programs.
(d) INPUT.—In carrying out this section, the Sec-
retary of Agriculture shall encourage communication
among Federal agencies, educational institutions, and the
private sector.
SEC. 4. FOOD SAFETY RAPID RESPONSE TEAM.
(a) DESIGNATION
AND COMPOSITION.—The Sec-
retary of Agriculture shall designate a Food Safety Rapid
Response Team within the Department of Agriculture, to
enable the Department to rapidly respond to food safety
emergencies. The Secretary shall select the members of
the Food Safety Rapid Response Team from personnel of
the Department with relevant subject matter expertise.
The Food Safety Rapid Response Team shall be under
the direction of a coordinating officer, who is appointed
by the Secretary and reports directly to the Secretary.
(b) DUTIES.—The Food Safety Rapid Response
Team shall review and evaluate the response of the De-
partment of Agriculture to food-borne illness outbreaks
and make recommendations to the Secretary of Agri-
culture regarding—
(1) the more effective involvement of other Fed-
eral agencies, State and local agencies, land-grant
colleges and universities, and other research institu-
tions in the response to a food safety emergency;
(2) the rapid dissemination of accurate infor-
mation to the public regarding a food safety emer-
gency; and
(3) other improvements to the current Federal
system for response to food safety emergencies.
(c) FOOD SAFETY ACTION PLAN.—
(1) PREPARATION.—The Food Safety Rapid
Response Team shall develop a food safety action
plan, which shall delineate, within the Department
of Agriculture, the responsibility and mission of each
office and agency of the Department during a food
safety emergency and facilitate the cooperation of
the Department and the coordination of the Depart-
ment response with other Federal agencies, States,
local governments, colleges and universities, indus-
try, and public interest groups.
(2) SUBMISSION.—Not later than one year after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
of Agriculture shall submit the food safety action
plan required by this section to Congress.
(d) EXECUTIVE BRANCH COOPERATION
AND CO-
ORDINATION.—The Secretary of Agriculture is encouraged
to enter into memoranda of understanding with the heads
of other Federal agencies that conduct similar programs
or activities regarding food safety, for the purpose of en-
suring consistent, accurate, and coordinated dissemination
throughout the executive branch of information and serv-
ices in the event of a food safety emergency.
SEC. 5. EMPHASIS ON FOOD SAFETY RESEARCH IN FUND
FOR RURAL AMERICA.
Section 793(c)(2)(A) of the Federal Agriculture Im-
provement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 2204f) is
amended—
(1) in clause (vii), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and in-
serting a semicolon;
(2) in clause (viii), by striking the period and
inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new
clause:
‘‘(ix) increase food safety from farm-
to-consumer.’’
SEC. 6. NATIONAL FOOD SAFETY RESEARCH, EDUCATION,
AND EXTENSION PROGRAM.
(a) DEFINITION
OF
FOOD
AND
AGRICULTURAL
SCIENCES.—Section 1404(8)(B) of the National Agricul-
tural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of
1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103(8)(B)) is amended by inserting ‘‘,
including food safety’’ after ‘‘agricultural products’’.
(b) FOOD SAFETY PROGRAM.—The National Agricul-
tural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of
1977 is amended by adding after section 1425 (7 U.S.C.
3175) the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 1426. NATIONAL FOOD SAFETY RESEARCH, EDU-
CATION, AND EXTENSION PROGRAM.
‘‘(a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall es-
tablish the National Food Safety Research, Education,
and Extension Program to reduce the incidence of food
borne illness to the greatest extent possible through re-
search, education, and extension activities.
‘‘(b) ELEMENTS OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall
use the National Food Safety Research, Education, and
Extension Program—
‘‘(1) to conduct and coordinate research con-
cerning food borne threats to human health and con-
cerning mechanisms to identify, reduce, eliminate,
and prevent food borne threats from entering into,
and existing in, the food supply, including research
to develop rapid, cost effective tests, for the presence
of 
food 
pathogens 
(such 
as 
Salmonella,
Campylobacter, E. coli O157:H7, Cryptosporidium,
Hepatitis A and Norwalk viruses, Pfisteria and
other marine toxins, Cyclospora, and Toxoplasma),
to enhance understanding of how such pathogens be-
come resistant to preservation technologies, and to
develop technologies for prevention and control of
such pathogens;
‘‘(2) to enhance surveillance by providing data
to anticipate and prevent future outbreaks of food
borne illness by focusing on production, processing,
handling, transportation, and storage practices,
proper use of veterinary drugs and feed, and man-
agement of animal wastes;
‘‘(3) to fill current knowledge gaps in food safe-
ty issues, including the development of better data
and modeling techniques to improve risk assess-
ments;
‘‘(4) to identify ways to improve the dissemina-
tion of information regarding food safety strategies
to all participants in the farm-to-table spectrum, in-
cluding agricultural producers, processors, transport-
ers, handlers, and consumers, so as to reduce the in-
cidence of food borne illness;
‘‘(5) to coordinate the activities of the Federal
Government and land-grant colleges and universities
regarding research on food safety issues and the dis-
semination of such information; and
‘‘(6) to cooperate with State governments and
the private sector to improve and enhance the safety
of food.
‘‘(c) CONTRACT, GRANTS, COOPERATIVE AGREE-
MENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—With funds available to
carry out this section, the Secretary may enter into
contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements with in-
dividuals and organizations in accordance with sec-
tion 1472.
‘‘(2) COMPETITIVE BASIS.—Grants made under
this subsection shall be made on a competitive basis.
‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATION.—
‘‘(1) COSTS.—The Secretary may retain for ad-
ministration up to 4 percent of amounts appro-
priated for the National Food Safety Research, Edu-
cation, and Extension Program authorized by this
section, notwithstanding the availability of any ap-
propriation for administrative expenses of the Na-
tional Food Safety Research, Education, and Exten-
sion Program.
‘‘(2) RULES
AND
REGULATIONS.—The Sec-
retary shall prescribe rules and regulations necessary
for the administration of this section.
‘‘(3) CONSULTATION
WITH
THE
NATIONAL
ACADEMY
OF
SCIENCES.—The Secretary may use
funds made available under this section to consult
with the National Academy of Sciences regarding
the administration of the National Food Safety Re-
search, Education, and Extension Program without
regard to the requirements of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) and title XVIII of
the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.
2281 et seq.).’’.
SEC. 7. DEVELOPMENT AND COMMERCIALIZATION OF
FOOD SAFETY TECHNOLOGY.
(a) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS FOR FOOD SAFETY
TECHNOLOGY.—Notwithstanding chapter 63 of title 31,
United States Code, the Secretary of Agriculture may
enter into cooperative agreements with a person or entity
otherwise eligible to enter into such an agreement under
section 1472 of the National Agricultural Research, Ex-
tension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3318)
under which the facilities and technical expertise of the
Agricultural Research Service may be made available to
the person or entity for the purpose of developing and
commercializing new technologies and products for food
safety to the point of practical application.
(b) SALE
OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES
AND PROD-
UCTS.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall authorize the
partners in a cooperative agreement under this section to
sell new technologies and products for food safety pro-
duced under the agreement for the purpose of determining
the market potential for the new technologies or products.
(c) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—To carry out this section,
the Secretary of Agriculture may use funds appropriated
to carry out this section and funds otherwise available for
such cooperative agreements that may be entered into
under section 12 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology In-
novation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a).
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