A dozen consumer groups have banded together to work against legislation that would make it more difficult for the government to issue regulations. The groups have dubbed it the “filthy food act,” which they say will make it more difficult to keep the American food supply safe. Politico’s Morning Agriculture Report says the bill is formally known as the Regulatory Accountability Act, clearing the House in January, with the Senate looking at its own version of the legislation. Groups like the Environmental Working Group, the Consumers Union, and others, say they are working to “raise the alarm” across social media platforms this week. The groups sent a letter to Congressional leaders this week saying, “Food safety rules help to reduce the risks posed by pathogens and pesticides. But the ‘Filthy Food Act’ would create an unprecedented regulatory gauntlet through which no food safety rule or guidance could pass.” They also say the act would cut science out of the regulatory process, replacing public input and expert testimony with mountains of reviews and red tape. The groups also point out that the Food Safety and Modernization Act, passed in 2011 and strongly supported by consumer groups and the food industry, would have been much more difficult to push through if the Regulatory Accountability Act was in place.
