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This bill would give the Food and Drug Administration new power to enter concentrated animal feeding operations, such as large livestock farms, to collect microbial samples when needed for a foodborne illness investigation or other public health reason. The goal is to help investigators find the source of outbreaks more quickly and understand how they started. The bill says these farms must allow reasonable access for sampling, but they can set fair limits on when and how the sampling happens as long as those limits do not stop the FDA from doing its work in a timely way. It also makes clear that the FDA is only getting sampling authority here, not extra control over foods that are mainly regulated by the Department of Agriculture. Any data gathered would be shared with Agriculture and with state and federal health agencies to support outbreak detection, investigation, and prevention.
- The FDA could request access to a large animal feeding operation to take samples from plants, animals, water, and the surrounding environment.
- The FDA could use this authority when investigating a foodborne illness outbreak, finding its root cause, or addressing other public health needs.
- Farms would have to give reasonable access, but they could set conditions like the time, place, and method of sampling if those conditions do not block the investigation.
- Refusing to provide reasonable access for this sampling would count as a violation of federal food law.
Official Summaries
Expanded Food Safety Investigation Act of 2025
This bill provides that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may, under specified circumstances, request access to a concentrated animal-feeding operation (i.e., a stabled or confined animal-feeding operation of a specified size) to conduct microbial sampling.
Specifically, the bill allows the FDA to request access if the FDA determines that sampling is necessary to facilitate an investigation of a foodborne-illness outbreak, determine the cause of an outbreak, or address other public health needs. Concentrated animal-feeding operations must provide reasonable access for sampling, including sampling of plants, animals, water, and the environment. The bill imposes penalties on operations that refuse to provide reasonable access.
Data collected in sampling efforts under this bill must be shared with the Department of Agriculture and state and federal public health agencies to facilitate the detection, investigation, and prevention of foodborne illness.
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 376 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 376
To provide the Food and Drug Administration with authority to conduct
microbial sampling on concentrated animal feeding operations as
necessary to facilitate a foodborne illness outbreak investigation,
determine the root cause of an outbreak of foodborne illness, or
address other public health needs.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 3, 2025
Mr. Booker (for himself and Mr. Blumenthal) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide the Food and Drug Administration with authority to conduct
microbial sampling on concentrated animal feeding operations as
necessary to facilitate a foodborne illness outbreak investigation,
determine the root cause of an outbreak of foodborne illness, or
address other public health needs.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Expanded Food Safety Investigation
Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. MICROBIAL SAMPLING ON CONCENTRATED ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS.
(a) In General.--Chapter IV of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act (21 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``SEC. 425. MICROBIAL SAMPLING ON CONCENTRATED ANIMAL FEEDING
OPERATIONS.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary may request access to a
concentrated animal feeding operation in order to conduct microbial
sampling, if the Secretary determines that such microbial sampling is
necessary in order to facilitate a foodborne illness outbreak
investigation, determine the root cause of an outbreak of foodborne
illness, or address other public health needs.
``(b) Granting of Reasonable Access.--A concentrated animal feeding
operation that receives a request for access under subsection (a) shall
provide reasonable access to the Secretary to conduct such microbial
sampling, including sampling of plants, animals, water, and the
environment, as the Secretary determines appropriate to address the
public health need. Such operation may place reasonable conditions on
access to the operation, including by specifying a time, place, and
manner for sampling, provided that any such conditions do not prevent
the Secretary from conducting appropriate sampling within a reasonable
period of time.
``(c) Authority Over Foods Regulated by the Secretary of
Agriculture.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose
additional requirements by the Secretary, beyond microbial sampling,
with respect to food that is within the jurisdiction of the Secretary
of Agriculture pursuant to the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry
Products Inspection Act, or the Egg Products Inspection Act.
``(d) Coordination With Other Public Health Agencies.--The
Secretary shall ensure that data collected under this section are made
available to the Secretary of Agriculture and relevant State and
Federal public health agencies in order to facilitate work in
detecting, investigating, or preventing foodborne illness. Nothing in
this section shall be construed to limit the rights and exemptions
otherwise available under section 552 of title 5, United States Code.
``(e) Definition.--In this section, the term `concentrated animal
feeding operation' has the meaning given such term in section 122.23(b)
of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor
regulations).''.
(b) Enforcement.--Section 301 of the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 331) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(jjj) The refusal to provide reasonable access for microbial
sampling in accordance with section 425.''.
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