Sunday Edition: The Farm Bill
The “one bill” approach, implemented every five years, has long shaped agriculture, food aid, school canteens and rural development.
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Quick Bites from the Food Safety Domain
- The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has found itself in the news several times this week. A Government Accountability Office report warned that the FDA does not have enough staff to carry out its oversight responsibilities. The FDA is responsible for ensuring the safety of nearly 80 percent of the nation’s food supply. In the meantime, the agency announced that it start testing certain dairy products used in infant formula after a botulism outbreak in ByHeart formula was traced to powdered milk. And finally, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced FDA would change the way it views products claiming to use “no artificial colors.” Under the new guidelines, companies can make this claim as long as they use dyes that are not petroleum-based. Kennedy and FDA Administrator Martin Makary say they want to encourage food manufacturers to use natural colors instead.
- In the United Kingdom, the Health Security Agency is investigating more than 35 illness reports linked to recent infant formula recalls. The culprit appears to be cereulide toxin, produced by Bacillus cereus. The Food Standards Agency is investigating the source of the contamination.
- Keep your Super Bowl party foods safe and healthy with some recalls from the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.
Today’s topic: the Farm Bill
Remember the Farm Bill? First passed in 1933 and renewed every five years since, the Farm Bill establishes programs and policies for food and agriculture in the United States.
The Farm Bill was last updated eight years ago, in 2018. This legislation expired in 2023 but was kept in effect with annual extensions currently scheduled to end on September 30, 2026.
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