According to Nation's Restaurant News, "A sweeping food-safety law that was passed by the U.S. Senate earlier this week and supported by leading restaurant industry trade groups has hit procedural and political hurdles that could jeopardize its passage."
"The Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Modernization Act, or Senate Bill 510, might have to be sent back to the Senate by the House of Representatives, according to published reports, because certain provisions have been interpreted by some parliamentarians to be calling for the creation of taxes, which, by Constitutional requirement, must originate in the House. The provisions in question, among other things, seek to impose fees on importers and farmers whose products are recalled because of contamination and recover the costs of reinspections. If it is ultimately determined that those fees amount to taxes, the bill’s text must be tacked onto a House bill and sent back to the Senate to be voted on again."
