Two House committees held hearings that examined imported food safety requirements. On Tuesday, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and the Food and Drug Administration, chaired by Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), heard testimony and recommendations on how to improve FDA’s monitoring of imported foods. Current and former FDA officials, as well as stakeholder representatives, testified that Congress should establish measures that would allow FDA to better respond to increasing levels of food imports into the United States. In addition, on Wednesday, the House Subcommittee on Health also held a hearing to discuss the safety of imported, FDA-regulated products. The subcommittee also discussed H.R. 3610, the "Food and Drug Import Safety Act of 2007," which was introduced last week by Chairman of the Committee John Dingell (D-MI). This legislation would create a user fee on imported food and drug shipments, give FDA the authority to recall adulterated products, and limit foreign food entry points to ports located near one of thirteen FDA labs available to conduct analysis. "Much of Congress continues to believe that legislative action is necessary in order to secure the safety of the nation’s food supply," said Robert Guenther, senior vice president of public policy for United Fresh. "The industry must continue to educate Congress and other elected officials about the ongoing efforts by the industry to adequately address food safety issues for fresh produce," he stated. For more information, please contact Robert Guenther, 202-303-3409.