Food Safety Bill Not Keeping Pace With Food Safety System

Despite recent improvements, a key agency responsible for the nation’s food safety is still way behind in modernizing the nation’s food safety system.  That assessment recently came from the Food and Drug Administration’s own inspector general as well as lawmakers who have oversight.  Several years ago, Congress gave the FDA the power to force recalls of food blamed for illness outbreaks.  But House Energy and Commerce Chair, Oregon's Greg Walden says, based on the inspector general’s report, the FDA has failed to fully implement the Food Safety Modernization Act.

“While the FDA says it’s addressed many of the finding of the recent OIG report, it is troubling that many of the recommendations from almost a decade ago stand today despite the additional authority given to the FDA through FSMA in 2010.”

But, the FDA has used mandatory recall only twice since then, and not at all over the last four years.  Other past recalls were voluntary.  It took 57-days, on average, to start a recall, after FDA learned of listeria, salmonella, and E-coli in greens, cheese, nuts, butter, and other foods.  Health and Human Services’ Deputy Inspector General Gloria Jarmon.

“For the 30 recalls we reviewed we found that FDA’s recall process was not always effective and efficient in ensuring the safety of the nation’s food supply.  Specifically we identified deficiencies in FDA’s oversight of recall initiation FDA’s monitoring of recalls and the recall information captured and maintained in the FDA’s recall system.”

One in six people, or 48-million, get sick each year from foodborne illness.  Three thousand die and the number of multi-state outbreaks is growing.  In the meantime, USDA is proposing a new voluntary inspection system for market hog slaughter, plus added pathogen sampling at all swine slaughter establishments.

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