FoodLogistics.com |

Washington: The House version of food safety regulations—HR 2749 “Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009” —is causing concern among a few segments of the food supply chain.

While not one organization is against the intent of the bill—food safety—the proposed implementation worries some because it assumes equal responsibility for everyone along the food supply chain, particularly food warehousing companies and 3PLs, whose sole responsibility is to store the finished products.

The IWLA (International Warehouse Logistics Association) agrees HR 2749 is comprehensive food safety legislation. However, the legislation does not distinguish what a third-party logistics provider does, states Joel Anderson, president and CEO of the Washington, organization. Manufacturers, processors and packers have a far greater impact on food safety than a warehouse storing food products.

“This bill states that if there is a recall, we would be held as responsible as if we had knowledge of the product and the ingredients within and we cannot withstand this liability standard,” states Anderson. “This could terminate our business model.”

The goal, says Anderson, is to help legislators understand the chain of custody involved in tracing back to the source of a contaminated product. “To hold everyone who touches the product to the same standards as the grower, producer, or processor is just not the proper approach and could wipe out the 3PL food warehousing industry because of the implied liability,” he warns.

Both GMA and FMI have issued endorsements of the bill, citing the bill’s ability to strengthen food safety while providing the FDA with the required resources to achieve its food safety mission. No one disputes this mission, but IWLA is concerned that the bill ignores the role and limited responsibilities of warehouses and 3PLs, a vital segment of the food supply chain.

Other concerns in the industry point to the House bill’s overly broad traceability requirements and the introduction of civil monetary penalties for things like recordkeeping errors that could carry fines up to $250,000 for each violation. Furthermore, new fees include a registration fee of $500 per facility and another $175,000 per company, which is significant for companies with a number of facilities.

This is the largest overhaul of the food safety law for some time. The industry is also monitoring the Senate version—S. 510 “FDA Food Safety Modernization Act” —which many groups feel offers a more sensible approach.