MINNEAPOLIS, May 1, 2008—The Trust for America's Health (TFAH) has described the U.S. food safety system as "antiquated" and "disjointed." And it is urging major overhaul to make the system stronger, more coherent, and better attuned to today's major threats.

TFAH, a public health watchdog organization, has issued a report citing a long list of problems, including severe underfunding at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), obsolete laws, a largely reactive approach to safety problems, and the spreading of food safety responsibilities among 15 different federal agencies.

Among near-term steps to address the problems, the report calls for doubling the FDA's food safety funds over the next 5 years and putting one person in charge of the agency's food safety programs. For the long term, the nation should move toward consolidating all federal food safety programs in one agency, the group recommends.

TFAH offers several general recommendations for building a "modern food safety system":

• Shift from "limited end-product and processing plant inspections" to an emphasis on preventing illnesses throughout the food production process and supply chain.
• Conduct research on emerging threats and up-to-date ways to contain them.
• To make imported food safer, give food safety agencies the authority and resources to educate foreign regulators and producers about US food safety standards, to require food importers to show the standards are being met, and to inspect foreign establishments and food shipments.

A first step toward those goals is to at least double the FDA's food safety funding in the next 5 years, the report says.

Full text of TFAH report 

Source: CIDRAP News