| The Food Safety Bill HR 2749 is less about food | | | | raided the pet food store of 57 year old Sissy |
| safety and more about giving the Federal | | | | Harrington-McGill, confiscating products and literature. |
| Government, through the Food and Drug | | | | Her crime was to say that vitamins could help keep |
| Administration (FDA), the power to control food | | | | pets healthy. |
| from production to point of sale. The one size to fit | | | | 3. In 1992, in Texas, the FDA conducted raids on 12 |
| all regulatory system will mean that small family farms | | | | health food stores. Stock was confiscated and never |
| and homesteaders will be at a major disadvantage | | | | returned to the owners. No reason was given for the |
| when competing with the large industrial food | | | | raids and no charges were filed. According to Mike |
| production companies. | | | | Adams "The raids were simply a campaign of terror |
| Opponents of the Bill say that if this Bill becomes law | | | | designed to destroy the inventory and disrupt |
| then most family farms, including organic farms, and | | | | business operations of stores selling natural health |
| homesteaders will be forced to go out of business. | | | | products". |
| Which will mean the end of buying locally grown food | | | | The FDA will have the power to stop the movement |
| and in particular organic food from organic food | | | | of all food in an area regardless of the fact that the |
| stores. | | | | food may or may not be involved in a contamination |
| Some of the provisions in HR 2749 are - | | | | scare. In theory this could result in some retail outlets |
| The establishment of a food and ingredient tracking | | | | in the designated area, such as farmers markets, |
| system. Which will track all edible raw materials from | | | | running out of food. |
| the land, or industry complex, to the retail outlets. | | | | The FDA will have the power to instruct farmers |
| How this will be accomplished is to be left to the | | | | how to grow their crops. This could result in organic |
| FDA to create. The fear is that this tracking system | | | | farms being forced to use chemical pesticides and |
| will not only be complicated but that the FDA will | | | | fertilizers, thus reduce or obliterate organic standards. |
| pass the cost onto the food business facilities in the | | | | All food facilities who produce, store, process or sell |
| form of extra taxation. | | | | food will be required to pay an annual mandatory |
| The FDA will have the legal authority to turn up at a | | | | registration fee the 500 dollars. If you ever sell your |
| food facility's place of business without a warrant and | | | | surplus food to your neighbor then this also includes |
| conduct a search of the business records without | | | | you. |
| any justification, i.e. the food facility need not | | | | Any individual person who violates any regulation set |
| necessarily have committed any offense or be | | | | by the FDA will face criminal charges with a maximum |
| suspected of having committed any offence. | | | | fine of up to 100,000 dollars per violation and up to |
| If you owned a farm, or a shop, where you did all | | | | ten years in prison. |
| the work yourself. If the FDA were to turn up at | | | | The legal power to be given to the FDA is horrific by |
| your premises unannounced and conduct a search of | | | | any reasonable person's standards. Which is why the |
| all of your business records which could take all day, | | | | organic farming organisation "The Farm-to-Consumer |
| or several days, how much work would you get | | | | Legal Defense Fund" is so strongly opposed to HR |
| done? Would you consider the intrusion a major | | | | 2749. If this Bill should become law then it is more |
| setback in the running of your business? Do you | | | | than likely that in the near future the only food |
| consider it would not happen to you? | | | | available to buy will be processed food either frozen, |
| Here are just three examples, as listed on Mike | | | | in a packet or can. Fresh food will become a rarity. |
| Adams web site, of the many armed raids carried | | | | One last point. Even if fruit and vegetables in their |
| out by the FDA on independent businesses. | | | | natural state are still available there is a high |
| 1. During October 2007 the FDA conducted a raid on | | | | probability that they will not be fresh. The FDA is well |
| the premises of FulLife Natural Options, Inc, based in | | | | known for its support for the irradiation of food. If |
| Florida. The FDA took away 71,000 dollars worth of | | | | the FDA get full control of the food supply it is highly |
| herbal supplements. FulLife's crime was to state on | | | | likely that they will regulate that all natural |
| their web site that the herbal supplements could | | | | unprocessed food is to be irradiated. Their excuse |
| lower blood sugar levels. | | | | for the irradiation of fresh food - food safety. |
| 2. In 1990 FDA agents, without a search warrant, | | | | |