ARLINGTON, VA — November 18, 2009 — The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) issued the following statement about the markup of the Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Modernization Act by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions from Leslie G. Sarasin, FMI president and chief executive officer:

    “The most important goal of America’s retailers and wholesalers is to provide nutritious, safe, high quality and affordable food. It is important that any legislation address these issues and restore public confidence in the safety of our food supply. We believe S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, achieves these goals.   

    America’s food retailers, wholesalers, and the entire supply chain and government have a responsibility to work together to improve the safety of our food supply. We support the bill’s focus on trying to prevent problems before they occur by providing FDA the necessary resources and authority to help the agency protect our food supply.

    We commend the work done by Senator Durbin, Chairman Harkin, Ranking Member Enzi and the other Senators that was vital in creating and moving this bipartisan bill through the HELP Committee, and we urge swift consideration of S. 510 by the full Senate. Food retailers and wholesalers are committed to helping enact comprehensive food safety legislation this year.”