Proposed Legislation to Exempt Utah from New Food Safety Act

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Proposal would exempt Utah food from federal regulation (By Robert Gehrke – The Salt Lake Tribune)

EXCERPT: Rep. Bill Wright, as he puts it, “grew up in the dirt,” raising dairy cattle since he was a boy. But now he fears farming is in jeopardy, threatened by the heavy hand of federal regulations that could drive farmers out of business and jeopardize Utah’s food supply. So in the latest bid to flex the state’s muscle, Wright is proposing legislation that would exempt food grown and consumed entirely within the state from any federal regulation.

The bill is in large part a response to the Food Safety Act, which Congress passed late last year and, Wright said, could greatly expand the Food and Drug Administration’s powers and subject all sorts of agriculture — from farmers markets to a person’s garden — to new, onerous federal rules…