Gov Watchdog Joins Call for Immediate Reform Posted by Reggie at 02/08/07 10:10 AM

The General Accounting office (GAO), Congress’ analytical watchdog arm, added the nation’s food safety system to its list of “high risk” areas in need of immediate attention from Congress and the Executive Branch.

The GAO conducts analytical reviews of all government functions and in 1990 developed a system for identifying the greatest threats to public health and wellbeing, the economy and citizen confidence in government and the democratic process. The list is presented to each new Congress. Food safety was one of three new items included in the 2007 update to the 110th Congress.

The new designation is a response to several persistent and a few new problems facing the nation's food supply which are cited in the GAO report and which Consumers Union and others have long recognized as critical to address. They include the following:

• The current system, having evolved over time in response to specific problems, is fragmented among 15 different agencies and falls under a more than 30 different laws. This patchwork directly impacts the government’s ability to strategically inspect food production and to respond quickly to outbreaks of contaminated food.
• Existing statutes give agencies different regulatory and enforcement authorities the inspection programs are inconsistent in frequency, methodology and funding.
• Food recalls are voluntary and federal agencies responsible for food safety, with the exception of infant formula, the agencies have no authority to compel companies to carry out recalls
• Each year, about 76 million people contract a food-borne illness in the United States; about 325,000 require hospitalization; and about 5,000 die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Our experience with 9/11 highlights the urgency of these challenges in light of agriculture’s vulnerability to terrorisms and other intentional misconduct. Whether accidental or deliberate, contamination of food or the introduction of disease to food animals or crops jeopardizes consumer confidence in the government's ability to ensure the safety of the U.S. food supply.
• Agriculture generates more than $1 trillion in economic activity annually, or about 13 percent of the gross domestic product. The value of U.S. agricultural exports exceeded $68 billion in fiscal year 2006.
• The California produce industry estimates the recent E. coli outbreaks, resulted in losses from $37 to $74 million.
• Some improvements were made to FDA’s seafood inspection system since the 2001 GAO report, however, much more needs to be done, especially in light of increased foreign imports

The GAO has been invited to testify before the House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee on February 8th.

comments (5)

1 Posted by D. Grant Gagen at 02/15/07 11:10 AM

This is "par for the course" in an administrtion of sheep and swine. Do your job and protect the American consumer!

D. Grant Gagen

2 Posted by Payday Loan Advocate at 11/04/08 02:28 AM

Foods were created for as to live and grow healthy. But nowadays the global news about the food poisoning is so shocking because it threatens public health and diseases are hurting everyone. Because it seems like everywhere you turn, there’s a story about how unhealthy Americans have become. Obesity and diabetes are on the rise among adults and children alike. A recent story in the New York Times reported that kidney stones are becoming more and more common in children as young as 5 or 6. A child with kidney stones used to be a rare occurrence, but now, some hospitals have opened pediatric kidney stone clinics in order to accommodate all of the kids that come in with kidney stones. The main preventative measure parents can take to help their children avoid developing a kidney stone is to encourage them to stay hydrated and discourage the over consumption of salt. However, it’s hard for parents to be with their kids all the time to ensure they’re putting the right things in their bodies—like at school—and sometimes kids just don’t listen. Not only is a kidney stone harmful to your kid, it can be a major blow to your budget. If your child develops a kidney stone, or is hit with some other health issue, you can always get payday installment loans to help cover the medical costs until you get paid next.

3 Posted by Lisa P at 11/25/08 02:56 AM

Food is the basic need of human beings that’s why people spend more money when it comes on food. Sadly, there are a lot of people all over the world that experience hunger because of poverty. The government must focus on how they are going to implement a program that will solve the poverty that some people are experiencing.

4 Posted by lisap at 11/28/08 01:10 AM

Eating food having helpful nutrients can lessen malnourishments from those malnourished children. Nowadays, food poisoning happens due to negligence on the part of the food provider. Simple and affordable food items are sometimes containing nutrients good for our body. So, why need for expensive one in which we can consider a wants? The United States has become the fast food nation. We have so many things right at our fingertips that we take for granted, like drinking water, fast payday loans, and food surpluses. In Haiti, many of their people have taken to eating dirt cakes (I’m not joking) and instead of choosing what to feed their children, they have to decide which of their children to feed. Starvation has become a pandemic, while here in America the food problem is of a different sort. Due to the high fat content of the American diet, the rates for obesity have skyrocketed, especially childhood obesity. The mantra for Americans is cheap and convenient; the fast food chains fill this idea to the tee, and they love letting you know that they do. The natural foods that are so much healthier for our families are more expensive, which is the barrier for many, as their budgets get crunched. Fast food is far more appealing for people who can’t afford a large grocery bill, and need to feed everybody right away. If you encounter an unexpected expense, and you have little ones that need to be fed, fast payday loans might be something for you to shop for.

5 Posted by Brayden X at 12/22/08 01:44 AM

The food plays an important role in man’s life. This is the basic necessity of the people in order to survive and to become healthy and strong. Providing ourselves with adequate and nutritious foods will help our body’s immune system healthy. The food contamination is an alarming issue most especially to the part of the parents. Of course they don’t want to take risk the health condition of their children because of this. And it can give us a financial burden because if the kids intake a contaminated foods, you have to rush them in the hospital and the medical bills for us can be a major blow in our budget.