Food Insecurity and Food Safety: Policy and Legislative Actions

One of the most popular trends in state legislatures from both sides of the isle is the adoption of food freedom laws — bills that exempt retailers from food safety regulations.  This enables the sale of food products at farmers’ markets, on farms, from seaside docks, or even at retail outlets that are uninspected and could cause severe foodborne outbreaks. Neither state nor local public health officials can contain, inspect, or eliminate the sale of these foods. At the same time, in the United States, about 35 percent of food produced is wasted, with more than 100 million tons of food waste generated across the retail, food service, residential, and manufacturing sectors each year. This level of food waste stands in stark contrast to the more than 80 million households that were estimated to be food insecure in the U.S. in 2023. Both the safety, and health and wellness of those living in the U.S., are threatened by these trends.