Safeguards | featured news

The bill still needs to be reconciled with legislation passed by the House in July 2009, but the Senate action was hailed by advocates as a sign that the nation's food-safety laws will receive their first major overhaul in decades. After languishing for more than a year, a food-safety bill that has enjoyed strong bipartisan support passed the Senate on Tuesday, raising prospects for tougher and more extensive federal inspections and other safeguards.