The Senate reached a “tentative” agreement on the pending food safety bill and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee is expected to issue the manager’s packaging and a Congressional Budget Office score, according to staffers.

The Senate reached a “tentative” agreement on the pending food safety bill and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee is expected to issue the manager’s packaging and a Congressional Budget Office score, according to staffers.

The pending Senate food safety bill moved forward last week as key lawmakers released a bipartisan, compromise agreement, which should make it easier to bring the bill to the floor for a vote after recess.

Absent from the 225-page managers’ package are two hot-button changes: A bisphenol-A (BPA) ban, championed by Senator Dianne Feinstein and a provision to ease the regulatory burden on small farmers authored by Senator Jon Tester and co-sponsored by Senator Kay Hagan.

The updated bill reduces the required inspection frequency as part of an effort to lower Congressional Budget Office cost estimate for the legislation. Food safety advocates encouraged by the bipartisan agreement, though several were very concerned about the reduced inspection frequency.

"We are extremely disappointed that the Senate, in order to reduce the estimated cost of the legislation, reduced the frequency of FDA inspections of food processing facilities," says the Consumer Federation of America, Washington, D.C. "Regular and frequent inspection is a basic part of prevention."