Washington ( CNN ) -- A major food safety bill that passed the House and Senate earlier this year before stalling because of a procedural problem won final approval Tuesday and now goes to President Barack Obama to be signed into law . The bill , designed to increase government inspections of the food supply in the wake of recent deadly foodborne disease outbreaks , originally passed with wide support in both chambers after originating in the Senate . However , it needed approval again because it violated a constitutional requirement that bills that raise revenue be initiated in the House . The Senate passed its version of the Food Safety Modernization Act on Sunday , and the House voted 215-144 for final approval on Tuesday in one of the final sessions of the lame-duck Congress . The bill , which represents the most sweeping overhaul of the food safety system since 1938 , allows for greater governmental regulation of the U.S. food system -- currently in the national spotlight for numerous egg and produce recalls . Among its provisions , the bill gives the federal Food and Drug Administration the authority to issue direct recalls of foods that are suspected to be tainted , rather than relying on individual producers to issue recalls voluntarily . Currently , the FDA can negotiate with companies , but has no power to enact a mandatory recall . It also requires food producers to develop written food safety plans , accessible by the government in case of emergency . Under the measure , the secretary of Health and Human Services would be required to create a food tracing system that would quickly focus on the source of contamination should an outbreak occur . It also requires food importers to verify the safety of all imported foods to make sure they are in accordance with U.S. food safety guidelines . In the Senate version , an amendment sponsored by Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana exempted relatively small-scale producers that sell most of their food directly to consumers within their state or within a 275-mile radius of where it was produced . Tester had called his amendment a `` win for anyone who eats food , '' noting the local food processors still would be responsible for demonstrating that they had identified potential hazards and were implementing preventive controls to address the hazards , or demonstrating to the FDA that they were in compliance with state or local food safety laws . CNN 's Deirdre Walsh and Tom Cohen contributed to this report .
The House votes 215-144 for final approval . A constitutional error in the bill 's origination force a second round of approval . The bill includes the biggest overhaul of the food safety system since 1938 .