The recent string of bacterial contaminations in food serves as an abrupt reminder of the need to reform the nation’s troubled food safety oversight system.
Nearly 300 people across the country have been sickened recently by salmonella-tainted peanut butter, including at least 10 in Colorado, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
That news was followed quickly with warnings of contaminated Costa Rican cantaloupes, organic baby food and pre-cooked chicken strips. Fortunately, no illnesses have been reported from ingesting those products.
While the nation’s food supply is generally safe, the contaminations are hardly an anomaly. Each year, 76 million people contract a food-borne illness. Other recent contaminations include bagged spinach with E. coli that sickened 199 people last fall and carrot juice responsible for several botulism poisonings.
The outbreaks underscore the need to streamline and improve government food inspection programs. The problems were detailed in a U.S. Government Accountability Office report issued earlier this month that called the current system inconsistent, ineffective and inefficient.
Food safety responsibilities are scattered among 15 agencies, which collectively administer at least 30 food safety laws. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration are the two primary agencies involved in food regulation, but their roles overlap in sometimes confusing ways.
The GAO report gave a ludicrous example of regulatory responsibility over a packaged ham and cheese sandwich. If it’s an open-face sandwich (one slice of bread), the USDA has responsibility. But if it’s a two-slice sandwich, the FDA’s in charge. Also, the FDA and the USDA both inspect imported food at 18 U.S. ports of entry, but do not share facilities.
The crazy scheme is the result of a piecemeal system that was created in response to various concerns over the last century. It’s time for Congress to look closely at comprehensive food safety legislation that will put authority within one agency, better match federal funds to actual threats, and increase inspections of the more vulnerable food sources.
For instance, the Georgia plant where jars of Peter Pan and Wal-Mart brand Great Value peanut butter are thought to have been contaminated hadn’t been inspected by the FDA since 2005. Salmonella, which causes diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps, typically comes from animal feces. It’s disgusting to contemplate.
Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., last week re-introduced legislation he has been pushing for years that would create a Food Safety Administration, similar to the Environmental Protection Agency. It would consolidate activities of various agencies and has been endorsed by several consumer and advocacy groups.
We urge Congress to consider Durbin’s measure as part of a thorough analysis of the nation’s jury-rigged food safety process.
