Government Accountability Office
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d081047.pdf?source=ra
[From summary] While FDA has considered fresh produce safety a priority for many years, resource constraints and other work—including counterterrorism efforts and unplanned events such as foodborne illness outbreaks—have caused FDA to delay key produce safety activities. FDA has no formal program devoted exclusively to fresh produce and has not consistently and reliably tracked its fresh produce spending. Based on FDA estimates, FDA spent at least $20 million and 130 staff years on fresh produce in fiscal year 2007—or about 3 percent of its food safety dollars and 4 percent of its food safety staff years. In addition, FDA had few staff dedicated solely to fresh produce safety. Moreover, FDA acknowledged that it has not yet been able to conduct certain fresh produce work crucial to understanding the incidence of contamination of produce by pathogens such as E. coli O157:H7 or Salmonella, because it has lacked the resources to either fund its extramural research grant program or perform some critical research internally. Finally, FDA delayed issuing final fresh-cut produce guidance at least 6 years because it had to shift staff to counterterrorism and outbreak investigation work.
Filed under: Human Health, Regulating Risks | Tagged: Food Safety, Public Health, Regulation
