The Senate lead on food safety  Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois, his bill has been referred to the Senate agriculture committee, now chaired by Democrat Tom Harkin of Illinois.

Harkin has requested an audit of our food safety system. In a letter to the inspectors general of the two agencies responsible, he wrote: "Taken together, all of the recent recalls of human and pet food raise serious questions about protocols in place now at FDA that are supposed to prevent and respond to contamination of our nation's food and feed supply."

Harkin's letter asks for detailed responses to questions such as "How often are facilities that produce meat, poultry and food products inspected or audited? How does the frequency compare to 10 years ago? Are the number of inspections and audits that facilities receive adequate to ensure a safe food and feed supply? Do FDA and USDA have adequate funding required to improve the frequency of inspections?"

Our food supply is far more challenging to regulate than it was a generation ago, given the rapid rise in imported food, especially food from less developed countries. But rather than rising to the challenge, the U.S. has fallen behind in food safety, as in so much else that requires government oversight and adequate public investment.

Eventually, bipartisan legislation will emerge. It will still be up to the executive branch to administer food safety effectively and therefore we will need an administration in Washington that manages government agencies in the public interest.

You will hear both Republicans and Democrats urging improvements in food safety, especially after more frightening food scares.