Responding to a request by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Richard Durbin (D-IL), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released an updated report on the U.S. food safety system.
Citing the 16 federal agencies involved in food safety and quality, the GAO states that federal oversight of food safety matters is “fragmented” and would benefit from the development of a national food safety strategy. The GAO is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress to undertake research and analysis at the request of congressional committees and subcommittees. GAO reports are constructed to provide objective and fact-based information to Congress.
The report, released in February, was prompted by a request to investigate how federal agencies involved in food safety oversight have addressed fragmentation among agencies, and options for responding to fragmentation with government-wide planning.
The report reviews efforts by the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Food and Drug Administration (FDA); the Office of Management and Budget (OMB); and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to implement prior GAO recommendations for inter-agency collaboration and the development of a national plan for federal food safety oversight.
GAO found that, although FDA and FSIS had developed several inter-agency initiatives on food safety, previous recommendations had not been implemented by FDA, FSIS, or OMB. GAO had previously recommended that OMB work with federal agencies to develop a government-wide performance plan for food safety.
As a result of interviews with the federal agencies, and a two-day meeting held in June 2016 with professionals in the field of food safety, GAO recommended the development of a national strategy for food safety oversight. GAO further suggested that the development of such a strategy be led by the Executive Office of the President (EOP). GAO anticipates such action by EOP would allow for evaluation of federal agencies’ organization and resources.
Each of the agencies reviewed in the report were allowed to provide comments on the findings. HHS and USDA both cited the importance of their inter-agency partnerships, while EOP and OMB did not offer comments on the report. A link to the full GAO report is available here.
