WASHINGTON — The Senate moved forward Wednesday on long-awaited legislation that would overhaul the nation’s food-safety system, grant new powers to the Food and Drug Administration and make farmers and processors responsible for preventing food-borne illness.
The legislation follows a spate of national outbreaks of food poisoning linked to items as varied as eggs, peanuts and spinach, in which thousands of people were sickened and more than a dozen died.
The Senate voted 74-25 to begin debate on the bill, suggesting the measure has strong bipartisan support and good prospects for passage. The House approved its version more than a year ago. Debate on the bill is expected to begin today.
The bill would place greater responsibility on manufacturers and farmers to prevent contamination — a departure from the current system, which relies on government inspectors to catch tainted food after the fact.
Farmers and processors would have to develop a strategy to prevent contamination and then continually test products to make sure food is safe.
The measure also would give the FDA authority to recall food it suspects is tainted and would give it access to internal records at farms and facilities.
The bill has revealed a deep rift between large farming corporations and the burgeoning local farming movement.
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., himself a farmer, negotiated language into the bill late Wednesday to exempt small farmers who have annual sales of less than $500,000.
