S. 4974, the Making America's Food Safer Act, advanced out of committee on July 22, 2026.
S. 4974 — Making America's Food Safer Act
What it does
This bill expands the FDA's use of third-party food safety audits and certifications to streamline import approval, allows the FDA to share food safety data (illness reports, lab results, inspection findings) with state and local health authorities to coordinate outbreak response, and gives the FDA power to order destruction of refused food imports that pose significant public health risks—with due process protections for importers. The primary beneficiaries are state/local health agencies (who gain access to FDA data for faster outbreak response) and importers (who can use third-party certifications instead of direct FDA inspection), while the FDA gains enforcement tools.
Quorum's transparency scan gave Making America's Food Safer Act a moderate transparency flag.
What happens next
S. 4974 advanced out of committee. Next stop: a floor vote.
Who is behind it
Filed by Tommy Tuberville. Cosponsored by Bill Cassidy and Tim Kaine.