Washington - Creation of a new Food Safety Administration, taking over work done by 12 federal agencies, was a long shot this year in Congress despite being a sensible step.
"With an abbreviated work session, this is a long shot this year," Senator Richard Durbin, Illinois Democrat, said after speaking to a conference sponsored by the consumer group Public Voice for Food and Health Policy.
Nonetheless, Durbin told the conference that he would try to see the change enacted this year. California Democrat Vic Fazio has filed a companion bill in the House.
Congress has commissioned a study by the National Academy of Sciences on the best way to structure U.S. food safety work and the appropriate food inspection regimes.
The Clinton administration has not taken a position on the bill, pending the Academy of Sciences report. "I think it is an idea whose time has come," Durbin told the Public Voice conference, pointing to high public interest in safe food.
At present, the Agriculture Department oversees meat safety while the Food and Drug Administration has jurisdiction over processed foods. The Commerce Department and Environmental Protection Agency also hold key food-safety roles. In all, Durbin said, 12 agencies were involved in food safety and inspection.
"The nation's food safety program does not need a separate agency for each food group," Durbin said in prepared remarks.
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