Food Safety

Over the past few decades, Congress and food inspection agencies have been battling with how to resolve the United State’s food safety problems. An estimated 5,000 people in the United States die each year due to food-borne illness. Food-borne illness is 100% preventable with the proper processing and handling of food.

"5,000 people in the United States die every year due to food-borne illness"

There are three main agencies that are involved with food safety- United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The US Department of Agriculture is in charge of inspecting meat and poultry, the Food and Drug Administration overseas all other foods and the Environmental Protection Agency sets tolerances for pesticides in food. At the start of the new millennium, Congress cut spending on food safety, which took an immediate toll on the FDA. The FDA only inspects food processing facilities once every ten years. With the rising concerns from consumers, Congress finally developed the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). It was signed by President Obama on Janurary 4^th. The new act helps to strengthen the food safety system. It is based more on prevention than a “clean-up" of the system. Although, there are parts that help the FDA respond better to problems when they do occur.

Here are some important implications of the FSMA:

Prevention

Food facilities are required to have a written preventive control plan, like a Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan. They will also be required to keep detailed records of production, and minimum standards for production and harvesting of fruits and vegetables are implemented.

 

Response

Before FSMA, the FDA was only able to advise a food facility to recall an infected product. Under the new law the FDA can issue a mandatory recall.

Imports

Under the prior law, less than 1% of imported food was inspected in the US. Now importers have an explicit responsibility to verify how their suppliers ensure food safety. The FDA has the ultimate power to refuse imports from facilities that won’t allow them to enter and inspect.

Hopefully with the FSMA the United States can start to make big strides in the improvement of food safety!