Summary

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed whether the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could rely more on state agencies to inspect the sanitation conditions of the food manufacturing establishments in its current inventory.

GAO noted that FDA does not specify the frequency with which food sanitation inspections should be conducted, but selects establishments for inspection based on products produced, the potential health risk involved, and the industry's inspection history. GAO found that: (1) 57 out of 69 food establishments in the FDA active inventory were routinely inspected by state agencies on an average of every 7 months; (2) over half of the establishments had 10 percent or less interstate sales; and (3) of the 57 firms sampled, 23 had one or more routine inspections where serious sanitation problems were noted. GAO also found that: (1) FDA justified keeping 69 establishments in its inventory because they had a large volume of business, produced products that had the potential for sanitation problems, or were subject to consumer complaints and labelling problems involving food and color additives; (2) where seriously unsanitary conditions are noted, state agencies inspect such establishments twice as frequently as other establishments; (3) consumer complaints could be forwarded to state agencies for follow-up procedures; and (4) in view of the states' significant roles in regulating the condition of food manufacturers, FDA inspections of most of the establishments are not warranted.