The Need for a Single Food Safety Agency

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The Need for a Single Food Safety Agency

• Caroline Smith DeWaal
• Center for Science in the Public Interest
• September 2002

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Food-Poisoning Outbreaks Are a Serious Problem in
the U.S.

• Unsafe foods are estimated to cause 76 million
  illnesses and 5,000 deaths per year.
• Those who are most at risk are the elderly,
  children, pregnant women, and ill people.
• A single outbreak can affect hundreds, or even
  thousands, of people

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Changes Impacting Food Safety

• Localized production to centralized production
• Improved transportation
• Increased imported foods
• Terrorism
• Aging of the population and increased virulence
  of some foodborne pathogens

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Outbreaks Are a Symptom of the Ailing Food Safety
System in the U.S.

• The CDCs Program for surveillance of foodborne
  illness outbreaks is flawed.
• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U. S.
  Department of Agriculture (USDA) fail to
  adequately protect consumers from foodborne
  illness.

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Outbreak Alert!
Closing the Gaps in Our Federal Food-Safety
Net Center for Science in the Public
Interest Updated and Revised September, 2002
Available on the web at www.cspinet.org
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What is so special about Outbreak Alert?

• Only source to find outbreaks listed according to
  their food source.
• Contains over 10 years of outbreaks reported to
  CDC in medical and scientific journals or in
  the media AND confirmed by public health
  officials.
• Were picky must have identified food source
  and disease agent.

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CSPIS Findings

• Foods regulated by the Food and Drug
  Administration (FDA) were the vehicles in
  two-thirds of the outbreaks in CSPIs database,
  while foods regulated by the U.S. Department of
  Agriculture (USDA) were the vehicles in
  one-fourth of the outbreaks.
• The top five single-food categories linked to
  outbreaks were seafood, produce, eggs, beef, and
  poultry.
• Produce caused the highest number of cases of
  food poisoning linked to outbreaks. Around 40
  of produce outbreaks were caused by pathogens
  commonly found in meat and poultry.

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Percent of Outbreaks Traced to FDA- and
USDA-Regulated Foods
N 2472
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Food Categories Linked to Outbreaks
N 2472
Both
USDA
FDA
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Comparing Outbreaks and Illnesses Among
Different-Food Groups
Total Number of Outbreaks 2472
Source CSPIs Outbreak Alert, 2002
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Food Safety Funding for FDA and USDAFY 2002
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Percent of Outbreaks Traced to USDA and
FDA-Regulated Foods
Food Safety Funding for FDA and USDAFY 2002,
Millions of Dollars
New Funding Needed (FDA)
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CSPI Concerns About Food Safety Regulatory
Structure

• Food safety problems can fall through the cracks
  of agency jurisdiction
• Many issues remain unaddressed because shared
  jurisdiction prevents needed regulation
• Some inspection resources are duplicated or absent

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CSPI Concerns About Food Safety Regulatory
Structure (Cont.)

• HACCP is a different system at FDA and at USDA
• New technologies are delayed or escape review by
  multiple agencies
• Confusing and inconsistent safety standards
• Imported products are treated differently
  depending on whether FDA or USDA has jurisdiction

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Supporters of a Single Food Safety Agency

• 1969 White House Conference on Food
• 1972 Ralph Nader Report -- Sowing the Wind
• 1977 Senate Governmental Affairs Report
• 1992 GAO -- Risk-Based Food Safety Inspection
  Report
• 2000 Food Marketing Institute
• 2001 Consumers Union

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New Voices In Support

• Dr. John Bailar III
• When bioterrorism is added to the mix,
  consolidation for food safety into a single
  high-level agency is critical.
• Chair, NAS Committee on Ensuring Safe Food

• Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge
• We need to have food inspectors. But we
  could enhance our security, improve our
  efficiency, and maybe save a few bucks, if we
  merged functions.
• November, 2001

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The federal government is also responsible for
the safety of the nations food supply. The way
things work now, theres one agency that inspects
cheese pizza. Theres another that inspects
pepperoni pizza. There is one agency that
inspects food grown outside the United States.
Another inspects food grown inside the United
States. Apparently, the revolutionary idea that
maybe these functions could be combined hasnt
dawned on anyone yet.
George W. Bush, Getting Results from Government
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania June 9, 2001
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The Recipe For Safe Food
USDA
FDA
Single Food Safety Agency
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