Legislating the Food Chain

By Jim Galligan
Editor

Congress is considering new rules for the nation‘s food supply and food distributors are paying attention.

Several well-publicized food poisoning scares over the past several years and the growth of new imported and domestic food supplies (See Changing Distribution Recipes, p. 12) are combining to focus attention on the safety and security of the nation’s food supply.

Congress is ready to act. Last summer, the House passed H.R. 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 while the Senate began work on S. 510, The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009. Both took a back seat to the all-consuming health care negotiations as this was written, but work on the proposals is expected to heat up this year.

While all indications are that any legislation will focus first on improving the safety and security of manufacturing and processing operations — the early end of the supply chain where most of the problems have occurred — the distribution portion also is likely to be included, industry executives said.

Not surprisingly, several food distributors and industry executives told LIGHT & MEDIUM TRUCK they believed the distribution link was one of the strongest parts of the nation’s food supply chain.

“We’re kind of in that scare mentality right now,” said Paul Saval, president and CEO of Saval Foods Corp., a full line food distributor based in the Baltimore suburb of Elkridge, Md. “But quite frankly, we probably have the safest food distribution supply system in the world.

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“Most if not all common carriers, if they are of any quality, already undertake proper stewardship of food products,” said Dave Miller, senior vice president of global policy and economic sustainability with for-hire and contract carrier Con-way Inc., San Mateo, Calif. 

Nevertheless, food transportation likely will become part of any congressional regulation, said Russell Laird, executive director of the Agricultural and Food Transporters Conference of American Trucking Associations.

“Transportation has not been the problem, but with all the conversations taking place, because the incidents have been widespread, [Congress] is focusing on fixing the problems they’ve identified and trying to prevent any other problem,” Laird said. “Transportation will be included.”

Jorge Hernandez, senior vice president of food quality for U.S. Foodservice, isn’t so confident the entire food distribution system is secure and suggested that food distributors may come under greater scrutiny than they expect once Congress begins serious discussion about food safety and security. <

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