President Barack Obama is expected to sign this week a US$1.4 billion overhaul of the US food safety system, which gives the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the power to increase inspections at food processing plants and forces companies, including petfood manufacturers, to recall tainted products.

Congress passed the bill in December 2010, in response to a series of outbreaks of E. coli and Salmonella contamination. The new law will require large farms and food manufacturers to prepare detailed food safety plans for FDA officials. It will also make recalling contaminated products mandatory, as opposed to current regulations that rely on manufacturers to do so voluntarily.