KPAX: Sen. Tester discusses his Food Safety Bill amendment
MISSOULA – Montana Senator Jon Tester is pushing for an amendment to the Food Safety Bil which would allow small-scale food producers to save thousands of dollars.
With some of the recent food recalls, Senator Tester says the federal government wanted to make sure the food sold in the United States is safe.
But the senator wants to amend to current bill to ensure that small-scale producers are not placed in a competitive disadvantage by regulations designed for large producers.
Senator Tester says while food producers marketing nationally should face greater scrutiny by the FDA, those producing small amounts of food sold in their own states should continue to be regulated on the state and local level.
“Local producers have a direct connection with their consumers. They know them on the first name basis for the most part. They treat food as food, not as a commodity and I think that goes a long way in making sure the food is safe,” said Montana’s Democratic Senator, Jon Tester.
