US food safety organizations: Should they be overhauled or should a new, single agency be created?

Overhaul

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by Angela S. Young

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In light of the major ground beef recalls this year (2007) that resulted in the folding of Topps Meat Company and other food recalls, is it time for the US government to create one agency to oversee all the other agencies that currently look out for our health?

After reading an article by Josh Funk, an Associated Press Writer, called "Critics Decry U.S. Food Safety System", I am tempted to agree. After all, the piece-meal nature of our food inspection services, along with lack of manpower, enforcement power and matching rule-books, has to be a set up for oversights.

Currently , the FDA regulates the majority of our foods, the USDA regulates meat related foods and a dozen or so others also have a finger in the pie (pun intended). With so many agencies, mistakes are bound to happen.

In his article, Funk tells that the nation's food safety system has many critics who say that it is "too fragmented and marked by overlapping authority." This, they say, is why "dangerous foods keep slipping through" and also why "contamination scares are handled in sometimes inconsistent ways."

Our system of food inspection and safety has been added to over the years as crises came up that needed addressed. The major players are the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) and the USDA (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture). The USDA receives the majority of the funds, but the FDA oversees the majority of the foods, and some believe the FDA needs further funding in light of this.

Because of all the recent recalls and related illnesses (up significantly this year) Congress is looking into the problem. That may be an oxymoron, but it's all we've got. The idea is to overhaul the entire system and/or create one agency.

The FDA and the USDA are both against the idea of creating one agency. They believe they already cooperate well and that the system should be over-hauled without creating the single entity to oversee all foods or to oversee the other overseers.

I agree. A fragmented system is not a safe system, but creating another government agency is not the answer. The following are some reasons I believe in system overhaul and unification rather than creating a new agency.

1. Creating another government agency, fraught by bureaucracy and special interests, will just be adding to the problem or creating a whole new one.

2. Having more than one agency keeps power from being concentrated in one place producing a tendency to power abuses.

3. Less government, not more. Yes, the conservative view is that adding more government to anything is seldom good.

4. These systems are already in place and handling the safety of our food for the most part. They do a good job, especially compared to what goes on in some other countries.

5. There's a reason for the two major systems. FDA regulates all food that doesn't have to do with meat, while the USDA oversees any products containing meat. While these overlap at times, it makes sense to have a group specifically overseeing our meat products.

6. The agencies are willing to work together, so let's help them do so by creating laws or regulations so that both are on the same page. Let's also give them the authority to force companies to recall suspect foods. Let's link them better so that they can do the job they were set in place to do.

I believe an overhaul of our food safety services is certainly overdue, but I do not advocate creating one agency. I believe that a few tweaks are all that is necessary. However, the decision will be in the hands of our Congress.

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FDA: www.fda.gov USDA www.fsis.usda.gov

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