H.R. 2749 to create a national tracing system for food from ‘farm to fork’

Washington, D.C. – On a second attempt at passage, the U.S. House successfully voted in favor of legislation to reform a food safety system that has been battered by a lack of consumer confidence and numerous food recalls over the past few years.

Brian Cute, Vice President of Discovery Services for Afilias, a global provider of end-to-end supply chain traceability services, today issued the following statement regarding passage of H.R. 2749, Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009.

“This comprehensive bill has the muscle and resources to help FDA modernize our antiquated food safety system. It will help prevent the more than 5,000 annual deaths related to food borne illness in the U.S. and protect Americans from exposure to contaminated foods.

“Today, the U.S. does not have any way to trace the origins of food from ‘farm to fork’ nor the ability to conduct targeted and precise recalls – the crucial missing piece of the food safety puzzle. And for years, consumers and the food industry have suffered from slow and ineffective investigative efforts and broad recalls, costing the country millions of dollars in lost product, and breeding distrust in consumers.

“The traceability pilots proposed in the bill seek to refine our food safety system, setting the foundation for collaboration between government and industry to determine which technologies available today will deliver a reliable and efficient tracing system to benefit all Americans. Now is the time for members of the food supply chain to embrace technologies that will help them deliver on their traceability requirements. Of paramount importance, these technologies should be developed upon global uniform standards and ensure interoperability across all supply chain members, both domestic and international.

“Afilias commends the House for supporting this bill and taking swift action on this issue of national importance and asks the Senate to likewise recognize the urgency for food safety reform this year.”

Among the reforms proposed in the bill, the Food Safety Enhancement Act requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to establish a tracing system to trace the origin of tainted food in the event of an outbreak of food borne illness. Prior to issuing regulations, FDA would be required to conduct a feasibility study, public meetings, and a technology pilot project.

H.R. 2749 will now move to the Senate for consideration along with other proposed food safety bills.

About Afilias Discovery Services
Afilias Discovery Services is a standards-based hosted registry service providing true end-to-end traceability. ADS allows you to securely and selectively share "track and trace" information.  Fully interoperable and identifier agnostic, with ADS you can conduct surgically precise product recalls, improving consumer safety and confidence while reducing business impacts.

About Afilias
Afilias is a global provider of Internet infrastructure services that connect people to their data. Afilias' reliable, secure, scalable, and globally available technology supports a wide range of applications including Internet domain registry services, Managed DNS, and services in the RFID and supply chain market with its Afilias Discovery Service.