WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, introduced the Consumer Recall Notification Act, new legislation intended to overhaul the way food recall notifications are distributed. The legislation would require that recall notices are posted on shelves at food retailers where recalled foods are sold, and would require that recall notices be sent directly to grocery store members and “loyalty card” users, and ensure that Class I recall information is distributed to health workers.
“In America, in 2010, it is unconscionable that we don’t have an effective way to communicate food-borne illness outbreaks to consumers and health departments,” Senator Gillibrand said. “It’s spreading too many diseases and costing too many lives. We need to do a better job of making sure every New Yorker knows when food items are being recalled. My legislation improves recalls and public education so parents get the information they need to keep their families safe.”
Gillibrand also introduced legislation to enroll all foster care children in the National School Lunch Program to give them access to healthy breakfasts and lunches, along with new legislation to update the nutritional standards of the USDA’s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program that provides resources for healthy food to low-income families, and cut waste from WIC to ensure that resources are being spent where they are needed most.
“Every child deserves the opportunity to achieve their full potential,” Senator Gillibrand said. “But too many of our children are falling behind because they don’t have access to healthy, nutritious meals. My legislation would make sure children who are most in need can get the same healthy meals that all schoolchildren have, update nutrition standards to maximize the effectiveness of the WIC program, and cut waste from the program to make sure we’re spending resources where they are needed the most.”