Poll shows support for food-safety spending ahead of budget markup

Two-thirds of likely voters support additional funding for federal regulators to carry out their new responsibilities under the food-safety law that went into effect this year, according to a nationwide poll released Thursday.

The Pew Charitable Trusts commissioned the poll ahead of next week's mark-up of the House agriculture budget, which covers the Food and Drug Administration. The poll also found almost three-quarters of respondents felt funding new food-safety measures was worth a 1 percent-to-3 percent increase in the cost of food.

"For too long the FDA, which is responsible for the safety of over 80 percent of the foods we eat, has not had adequate resources or power to protect Americans from dangers in the food supply," Erik Olson, director of food programs for the Pew Health Group, said in a statement. "This poll reflects a strong belief that Americans are willing to pay more to ensure that the FDA is protecting the safety of the food they put on their family's dinner table."

The poll of 1,015 likely voters was conducted by the bipartisan team of Hart Research and American Viewpoint. Pew also polled likely voters in the districts of Appropriations chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) and agriculture subpanel chairman Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) and found similar levels of support for the new law.

The Food Safety Modernization Act was signed into law in January after gaining bipartisan majorities in both chambers. The legislation gives the Food and Drug Administration the power to recall tainted food, quarantine geographical areas and access food producers' records.

Kingston's panel is scheduled to take up the agriculture budget for 2012 on Tuesday, with the full committee following suit on May 31.