This week, U.S. House of Representatives made significant progress in terms of allocating funds for food safety. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is expected to receive just over $1 billion––a solid compromise after much debate between the House and the Senate.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is also in line for funding with $2.6 billion earmarked for discretionary use––almost $30 million more than last year’s initial funding level. The FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition is said to get $903 million of the allocation while the Center for Veterinary Medicine is slated to gain $147 million.

In an effort to thwart instances of fraud and to improve the U.S.’s seafood supply, the USDA, FDA and FSIS are expected “to support developing technologies that will provide rapid, portable, and facile screening of food fish species at port sites and wholesale and retail centers”.  Additional requirements include that the USDA must make recommendations to Congress by next spring regarding country-of-origin labeling for beef, pork and poultry––guidelines that must comply with the World Trade Organization.