Overlap of government organizations is nothing new, but it is causing us undue difficulties with food contamination. Combine this with knowledge that often foods which come from foreign nations often are contaminated and it is creating a toxic food supply for our nation. The way we have divided the responsibility of inspecting our imported food may prevent us from fully resolving the issue.
Two government agencies, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), share the majority of the responsibility of food safety inspection. The rules that determine which agency is responsible for which food can be complex, and sometimes it defies categorization altogether.
One good example of this is inspections of eggs. The FDA inspects shelled eggs, while the USDA is responsible for inspecting egg products, including liquid, frozen and dehydrated eggs. Further examples abound. The FDA regulates feed the chickens eat, but the laying facility falls under USDA regulation. Open-faced sandwiches under the USDA, while closed-face sandwiches are inspected by the FDA. The FDA is in charge of regulating bagel dogs, while the USDA is in charge of corn dogs.
This may sound confusing; it’s because it is.
For example, an investigation into the Salmonella outbreak in Iowa eggs may be complicated by the fact that the USDA is responsible for the pile of manure next to the laying facility, but the FDA is accountable for the danger of the eggs themselves.
The USDA conducts continuous daily inspections of foods in its domain(especially meat), whereas FDA inspections have no regular schedule. The FDA is only more likely to inspect an installation after a tip about a possible food safety violation, so random inspections can occur up to 10 years apart or, in some cases, not at all. The reason they don’t inspect more is because they simply don’t have the funding to do so.
This becomes even more frustrating when it comes to food imports. While the USDA conducts inspections of all meat and poultry, the FDA is tasked with other items including most types of fish and shrimp. The FDA is only able to inspect 2% of all food imports into the U.S., leaving the vast majority uninspected.
Between
1998 and 2007, U.S. food imports grew from $41 billion to $78 billion
per year. Now, about 85% of the seafood Americans eat comes from
outside the country, and as much as 60% of U.S. fresh produce isimported.
TheAlabama Department of Agriculture tested 258 samples of catfish and a
related species from China, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Cambodia
from 2002 to 2010. Forty-four percent of samples tested positive for
an antibiotic used to treat pneumonia and tuberculosis. The FDA
banned the same antibiotic for use in fish in 1997.
Foods turned away by the FDA have been found to contain illegal fungicides, antibiotics, and sometimes even fecal matter.
With these side by side dual roles, the U.S. would be much better served by having one agency tasked with inspecting domestic food and another tasked with inspecting foreign food. Charging an inspection fee upon arrival, it could be added, would help pay for these services.
Eliminating duplicative roles in food inspection would save time and money and ensure that a greater percentage of our food is inspected to keep our food supply safe. It would make sure there is a standard operating procedure for inspecting all food and make sure that regular inspections occur on a timely basis. Investigations would be easier to conduct and regulations would be more streamlined.
This would make it easier for corporations to know how to navigate the system, and encourage similar standards for all food. As newer technologies become available that increase the efficiency of testing , they can be introduced more quickly, ensuring even better methods of testing. It is easy to understand that it would be incredibly expensive to inspect 100% of imports, but 2% is unacceptable.
This would make it easier for corporations to know how to navigate the system, and encourage similar standards for all food. As newer technologies become available that increase the efficiency of testing , they can be introduced more quickly, ensuring even better methods of testing. It is easy to understand that it would be incredibly expensive to inspect 100% of imports, but 2% is unacceptable.
We need to protect our food supply by enacting changes that both eliminate government waste and increase the efficiency of food safety inspections.
