Robert P. Casey Jr.
Lawmakers seek more food-safety oversight
December 6, 2007
Source: USA Today
By Julie Schmit
Food-safety laboratories that test some imported foods would be required to submit all test results to federal regulators, whether good or bad, lawmakers proposed Wednesday. Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, introduced the Eat Safe Act of 2007, which includes additional funding for food-safety agencies and requires tighter oversight of private labs that test some imported foods.
The labs test imported foods that have had safety problems before and which the Food and Drug Administration won't allow into the USA unless the importer proves them safe. Typically, importers hire private labs to test the products and those results then go to the FDA.
USA TODAY reported last month that five private labs confirmed they don't submit failing test results to the FDA if the importers tell them not to. The FDA in 2004 proposed that labs be required to submit all test results to the agency, but it never implemented the change. The concern is that unscrupulous importers might try to sneak bad products into the USA by hiding failing test results, getting another lab to test the shipment and then giving the FDA only that test if it came up clean.
The labs, which test thousands of food products a year, are not formally regulated by the FDA. In addition to full reporting of test results, the bill proposes that the FDA certify and inspect the labs and that the labs pay a fee to fund the extra work.
The FDA has said it plans next year to issue guidance for accreditation of the private labs, but it hasn't released details or said whether fees would be involved.
The legislation also calls for $25 million a year in additional funding so federal food-safety agencies can hire 250 workers, many of whom would focus on imports. That includes $10 million for the Department of Agriculture and $15 million for the FDA.
The bill also proposes $6.5 million a year for food-safety and food-defense training for federal employees. The two agencies spend about $1.3 billion a year combined on food safety.
The bill is one of a dozen food-safety proposals introduced this year after scares involving pet food, seafood and toys. The bill is the only one in the Senate that has bipartisan authors, Casey says, and that covers full disclosure of private lab test results.
The USDA regulates meat, poultry and some egg products. The FDA regulates all other food — about 80% of what consumers eat. Last week, an advisory panel to the FDA said the agency is so understaffed and underfunded that it's putting U.S. consumers at risk. The food-import system, the panel said, is "badly broken."
The latest bill "is something else to throw into the pot," says Benjamin England, a former FDA attorney who consults to industry on FDA regulations for law firm Jones Walker. He says the flurry of bills indicates that lawmakers recognize that something needs changing at the FDA, in particular. Food-import legislation that passes — if any — may include proposals from multiple bills, he says.
On Thursday, Democratic Sens. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Richard Durbin of Illinois will join with consumer groups to urge more funding for the FDA.
Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, who led a task force on import safety, acknowledged last month that the administration's plans for food safety will take more resources, but no specific 2009 budget proposals have been made.
