Democrats push food safety bill despite concerns

By Christopher Doering

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic lawmakers said on Thursday new user fees and other proposals would help give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration much needed resources to improve the safety of the U.S. food supply, but critics said such measures could do more harm than good.

The move to bolster food and drug protection, included in draft legislation introduced in the House of Representatives last week, comes after safety concerns involving U.S.-made spinach and peanut butter, along with problems tied to contaminated ingredients made in China that were later used in pet food and the blood-thinner drug heparin.

"The agency is starved for resources and cannot meet its basic responsibility," Rep. John Dingell, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said at a hearing on the bill.

The measure, he said, "will focus on efforts to seek real legislative conclusions to what is, in fact, a public health crisis."

The FDA has faced intense criticism from lawmakers and consumer groups that it has been too passive in handling changes in the food supply -- particularly the surge of imports and growing consumer demand for fresh produce.

The agency is in charge of 80 percent of the U.S. food supply, mostly fruits, vegetables and processed foods.

The draft legislation, crafted by Dingell and other Democratic lawmakers, would require U.S. food manufacturers and those exporting goods to the United States to pay $2,000 for each facility they operate.

The fee would generate $600 million, more than doubling the agency's current food safety budget.