After an 18-month journey, the Food Safety Modernization Act finally made it into law Jan. 4, bringing to a close a much-debated issue that had managed to both divide and unite the Democratic and Republican parties.  

The bill brings the first major updates to food-safety legislation in more than 70 years. It authorizes the hiring of 17,800 new FDA inspectors and gives the agency sweeping new powers, which include the authority to order a recall instead of relying on companies to voluntarily recall their food, the ratcheting up of standards for imported food and better tracking of fruit and vegetable shipments.

“Each year, foodborne illness strikes 48 million Americans, hospitalizing a hundred thousand and killing thousands,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg. “I thank the President and members of Congress for recognizing that the burden that foodborne illness places on the American people is too great, and for taking this action.”