Update on Tester Amendment and Food Safety Bill
Yesterday evening the food safety bill’s managers agreed to a modified version of the Tester amendment; a summary follows below.
The process for considering the Tester amendment, as well as the broader legislation itself, remains unclear at this point. As a reminder, this morning we remain in the 30 hours of post-cloture debate on the motion to proceed; that time should expire sometime this evening. We will have additional updates as they become available.
Summary of Tester Amendment as Modified:
- Clarifies that a “retail food establishment” shall not include the sale of food products at a roadside stand or farmer’s market, the sale of food “through a community supported agriculture program,” or the sale of food through any other “direct sales platform” designated by the Secretary.
- Exempts from recordkeeping and hazard analysis requirements a “very small business” as defined by the Secretary, as well as those facilities whose direct sales (to consumers and local restaurants) exceed their sales to distributors AND whose annual sales total fewer than $500,000 (adjusted for inflation). Requires such facilities receiving exemptions to submit documentation to FDA that the owners have identified potential food hazards OR are in compliance with state and other applicable food safety laws. Permits FDA to revoke exemptions in the event of a food outbreak directly linked to the facility or to protect the public health.
- Requires a study by FDA and the Department of Agriculture to help define the terms “small business” and “very small business” for purposes of the statute’s regulatory requirements.
- Requires facilities receiving exemptions under the amendment to “include prominently and conspicuously…the name and business address of the facility where the food was manufactured or processed,” either on food labels or at the point of purchase.
- Amends the timeline for the new hazard analysis requirements to specify that small businesses will have an additional six months to comply with the hazard control regulatory requirements (down from two years in the base bill) and very small businesses will have an additional 18 months to comply (down from three years in the base bill).
- Exempts from new produce safety guidelines those farms whose direct sales (to consumers and local restaurants) exceed their sales to distributors AND whose annual sales total fewer than $500,000 (adjusted for inflation). Requires farms receiving exemptions under the amendment to “include prominently and conspicuously…the name and business address of the facility where the food was manufactured or processed,” either on food labels or at the point of purchase. Permits FDA to revoke exemptions in the event of a food outbreak directly linked to the facility or to protect the public health.