The ranks of both federal and state food safety inspectors are dwindling, leaving food processing plants to police themselves, according to an
Associated Press investigation.
The recent salmonella outbreak, traced back to a derelict peanut plant in Georgia, has once again thrust the nation’s food safety shortcoming into the spotlight. A different salmonella outbreak was traced to another Georgia peanut butter plant in 2007. The two peanut butter incidences sandwiched other high profile food-borne illness outbreaks, including last summer’s mysterious salmonella episode that was ultimately traced to jalapenos.
The state of Georgia clearly can’t keep tabs on facilities in its borders. But many states are in a bind: While food production tends to rise, inspection resources don’t. AP reports:
The FDA covers some costs for states to perform inspections. But in Pennsylvania and Ohio, for example, each state's own food safety spending increased only slightly since 2003, less than the rate of inflation; in California and Massachusetts, just barely more than inflation; and in New Jersey, spending has remained about the same. Those are among states with the largest numbers of food-processing plants.
And if that weren’t bad enough, the U.S. FDA is actually dumping more and more of its responsibilities onto state agencies:
State investigators performed more than half the Food and Drug Administration's food inspections in 2007, according to an AP analysis of FDA data. That represents a dramatic rise from a decade ago, when FDA investigators performed three out of four of the federal government's inspections.
But the blame cannot be placed squarely on FDA’s shoulders. As the AP points out, the agency’s resources have not fared much better than those of the states:
The number of federal field food inspectors dropped by more than 400 between 2003 and 2007, according to the FDA's budget. But the number of businesses requiring oversight increased by 7,200 between 2003 and 2007, according to the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.
That brings us to Congress – the signer of FDA’s check. Democrats in Congress have said publicly that FDA needs a major infusion of resources but have refused to put their money where their mouths are. FDA saw only a minor increase from FY 2007 to FY 2008. Congress has yet to finish its work on spending bills for FY 2009 (which started more than four months ago).
Congress has been equally abysmal in making policy reforms to the nation’s food safety system that might allow agencies to protect the public more efficiently and effectively. In the 110
th Congress,
at least a dozen bills pertaining to food safety were introduced in one or both chambers. Not a single one cleared the committee stage. A lot of crowing and strutting, but no action.
The reality is, food safety is simply not a priority for the Democratic leadership. Multiple food-borne illness outbreaks of great severity – the kind of severity that has led to thousands of illnesses and dozens of deaths – haven’t yet drawn the attention of the people’s branch of government.
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