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FDA cuts mean fewer food inspections
Posted on Feb 27th 2007 9:00AM by Bethany SandersFiled Under: Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
With all of the recent headlines dealing with contaminated food, I've been wondering whether there really is a food safety issue in this country, or whether we were just hearing about it more often. I thought maybe it was the "shark attack" phenomenon. Do you remember that year when we were hearing about a shark attack every other week or so in the summertime, and just when you thought it was no longer safe to go in the water, we learned that there were no more shark attacks that summer than any other? I do, and I thought that might be part of what was happening here.
It turns out, that's not the case. Cuts to the Food and Drug Administration have reduced food safety inspections by 47% since 2003. Not only that, food safety tests have fallen as well, to 75% of the amount completed in 2003. The problem is well-known among industry leaders, but the FDA's budget isn't set to get any additional money until 2008, and even then experts fear it's only a fraction of what they need. Until then, the FDA is struggling to manage the influx of imported foods coming into the country, and to focus their efforts on high-risk foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables.
Despite this news, the FDA says it is aggressive when a problem is found and works diligently to correct the problem immediately, and in retrospect we'll never really know whether more inspectors in the field would have prevented those most recent outbreaks. Looking for more information? The FDA website has a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions for consumers who want to know more.
It turns out, that's not the case. Cuts to the Food and Drug Administration have reduced food safety inspections by 47% since 2003. Not only that, food safety tests have fallen as well, to 75% of the amount completed in 2003. The problem is well-known among industry leaders, but the FDA's budget isn't set to get any additional money until 2008, and even then experts fear it's only a fraction of what they need. Until then, the FDA is struggling to manage the influx of imported foods coming into the country, and to focus their efforts on high-risk foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables.
Despite this news, the FDA says it is aggressive when a problem is found and works diligently to correct the problem immediately, and in retrospect we'll never really know whether more inspectors in the field would have prevented those most recent outbreaks. Looking for more information? The FDA website has a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions for consumers who want to know more.
