The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has criticized the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for failure to meet the mandates imposed under the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Legislation enacted during the Administration of President Obama was intended to create a more proactive FDA and to increase the capacity of the Agency to predict, identify and control outbreaks of foodborne illness.
The GAO review identified failure to issue guidance on HACCP for human food, on prevention of intentional adulteration and establishing a national food emergency response laboratory network. The FDA has delayed publishing a manual of acceptable agricultural practices for leafy vegetables and fruits notwithstanding regular seasonal outbreaks of foodborne bacterial disease. The FDA has yet to establish a system to track and trace imported food and domestic production as consumed in the U.S.
Following identification of deficiencies, the GAO issued a series of recommendations. These included:
- Establishing a timeframe for HACCP guidance and preventive controls as required by FSMA.
- The Commissioner of the FDA is required to report on progress implementing guidance to protect against intentional adulteration of food.
- FDA should develop plans and milestones with timelines for product tracing, good agricultural practices for fruits and vegetables
- Expedite the required national emergency response laboratory network.
The FDA has presided over a sequence of potentially avoidable food problems including contamination of infant formula, foodborne disease outbreaks attributed to leafy greens, heavy metal contamination of infant foods. The reorganization of the FDA has consumed the time of administrators and has generated insecurity. This self-inflicted obstacle coupled with injudicious termination of qualified scientists and field personnel has seriously weakened the Agency.
More than a decade ago, EGG-NEWS supported initiatives by professional associations to establish a Food Safety Agency separate from the FDA that could concentrate on aspects of food and nutrition. These critical components of the Nation’s health have traditionally been underserved by the FDA hence the Washington aphorism that the “F” in FDA is pronounced silently!