Historic Overhaul will Help Prevent Food Contamination, Improve Illness Outbreak Response

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) hailed today's Senate passage of legislation to better protect Americans against contaminated food and food-borne illness.  The measure passed by a vote of 73 to 25.  Harkin, who is Chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), is a lead sponsor of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, and has worked closely with a bipartisan group of Senators over the past year to establish a broad coalition of support for the bill.

"For too long, we've allowed trips to the grocery store to be a gamble for American families," said Harkin.  "The bipartisan bill passed by the Senate today will give our citizens some long-overdue peace of mind in the supermarket aisles, establishing tough new protections against contaminated food.  By working with our colleagues across the aisle, today we've scored an important victory for the American people.  I hope this will serve as an example of what we can do to improve the lives of citizens across the country by working together."

The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act will:

• Improve prevention of food contamination through identification of hazards before food becomes contaminated.
• Allow the FDA to issue mandatory recalls in the event that businesses do not voluntarily recall harmful foods.
• Require grocery stores and other food retailers to notify consumers if they have sold food that has been recalled.
• Improve disease surveillance so outbreaks can be discovered earlier.
• Allow FDA to respond more quickly when food-borne illness does occur by improving the ability to trace contaminated food back to its source.

A summary of the legislation is below:

The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act

Recent outbreaks of food-borne illness and nationwide recalls of contaminated food from both domestic and foreign sources highlight the need to modernize and strengthen our nation's food safety system. The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act is a bipartisan plan that provides new food safety tools and updates food safety standards to ensure the safety of our food supply.

Improves Our Capacity to Prevent Food Safety Problems

• Hazard analysis and preventive controls: Facilities must identify, evaluate, and address hazards and prevent adulteration via a food safety plan. In certain circumstances, gives FDA access to these plans and relevant documentation.
• Access to facility records: Expands FDA access to a registered facility's records in a food emergency.
• 3rd party testing: Provides for laboratory accreditation bodies to ensure U.S. food testing labs meet high quality standards and, in certain circumstances, requires food testing performed by these labs to be reported to FDA. Allows FDA to enable qualified 3rd parties to certify that foreign food facilities comply with U.S. food safety standards.
• Imports: Requires importers to verify the safety of foreign suppliers and imported food. Allows FDA to require certification for high-risk foods, and to deny entry to a food that lacks certification or that is from a foreign facility that has refused U.S. inspectors.

Improves Our Capacity to Detect and Respond to Food-borne Illness Outbreaks

• Inspection -Increases the number of FDA inspections at all food facilities.
• Surveillance - Enhances food-borne illness surveillance systems to improve the collection, analysis, reporting, and usefulness of data on food-borne illnesses.
• Traceability - Enhances tracking and tracing of high-risk foods and directs the Secretary to establish a pilot project to test and evaluate new methods for rapidly and effectively tracking and tracing food in the event of a food-borne illness outbreak.
• Mandatory Recall - Allows FDA to initiate a mandatory recall of a food product when a company fails to voluntarily recall the contaminated product upon FDA's request.
• Suspension of Registration - Allows FDA to suspend a food facility's registration if there is a reasonable probability that food from the facility will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.

Enhances U.S. Food Defense Capabilities - Directs FDA to help food companies protect their products from intentional contamination, and calls for a national strategy to protect our food supply from terrorist threats and rapidly respond to food emergencies.

Increases FDA Resources - Authorizes increased funding for FDA's food safety activities, such as hiring personnel, and includes targeted non-compliance fees for domestic and foreign facilities.

Regulatory Flexibility - Modernizes our food safety system without being burdensome. Provides training for facilities to comply with the new safety requirements and includes special accommodations for small businesses and farms. Exempts small businesses from certain aspects of the produce standards and preventive control requirements.

The Wapsi River Environmental Education Center will be closed for a controlled deer hunt from Saturday, December 4 thru Wednesday, December 8.  As a result, the Eagle View Eco Center and its displays will be closed on Saturday, December 4.

York, PA, November 9, 2010  ? The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: BONT) is pleased to announce a record-breaking year for its semi-annual Goodwill® Sale, which collected 8.3 million pounds of donations between its spring and fall sales. Bon-Ton's Goodwill Sale has been occurring since 1994, and the latest event took place from September 15 through September 29, 2010, bringing in 4.3 million pounds of clothing and textile donations. The items collected this year have an estimated value of approximately $30 to 34 million in revenue, which is used to fund Goodwill's social services in communities nationwide.

"We are thankful to our customers and to the community for their support of our signature Goodwill Sale," said Bud Bergren, president and CEO of The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. "The Goodwill Sale exemplifies our commitment to the communities in which we operate, while offering our customers the latest in fashion merchandise at outstanding values."

The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. ? which operates stores under the Bon-Ton, Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson Pirie Scott, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's, Younkers and Parisian (Detroit, MI area) nameplates ? received donations in its 277 stores. Goodwill sold the donated items in the communities where they were collected, and the revenues were used to support job training programs for people with disabilities, those who lack education or job experience, and others facing challenges to finding employment.

"The revenues generated during the Goodwill Sale are helping people find jobs, build their careers and support their families," said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. "We are grateful this partnership with Bon-Ton allows us to help our friends and neighbors experience the pride and independence that work brings."

As a thank you to those who donated, Goodwill distributed more than 1.6 million Bon-Ton coupons, so those individuals could receive 15- to 20-percent off when purchasing merchandise in Bon-Ton stores. In addition, the Million Acts of Goodwill web site educated consumers about Goodwill's mission of helping people find jobs and rewarded those who donated. Visitors to the site could play an instant win game; 40 instant winners received various prizes, and one grand-prize winner received a $1,000 Bon-Ton gift card.

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Grassley Presses the Administration to Fix Lax Oversight of Tax Dollars at Public Housing Agencies

WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is pressing the federal government to fix its lax oversight over the billions of taxpayer dollars given to public housing agencies.  Grassley's review and media reports have exposed millions of dollars being paid to local agencies that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has classified as "high risk," salaries for some housing agency directors that exceed the governor's salary in their state, and sexual predators residing in public housing.

"This tax money is supposed to provide housing that's safe, decent and sanitary," Grassley said.  "So far, the federal government has failed to protect its tenants and the American taxpayer.  The Department of Housing and Urban Development appears to have lost sight of its mission and ultimately the tenants and the communities suffer the consequences.  It's an understatement that too many public housing authorities operate poorly.  It's up to the Administration to require improvements and hold the authorities accountable to taxpayers and residents."

Over the past year, Grassley has conducted oversight of federal stimulus spending, including that given to public housing authorities.  HUD has received approximately $14 billion in total stimulus funding, including approximately $4 billion to the public housing authorities.  HUD has obligated more than $94 million in stimulus funding to housing authorities that HUD classified as "high risk."

This week, Grassley wrote to HUD, expressing concern about high salaries and allowances being paid to some executive directors of public housing authorities and sexual predators residing in public housing.

The text of his letters is available here and here.