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GAO-10-182R 1 (2010-04-23)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaanse0001 and id is 1 raw text is: i G AO . A~c~ ount*biity I Integrity * Reliability United States Government Accountability Office Washington, DC 20548 April 23, 2010 The Honorable Brad Miller Chairman Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight Committee on Science and Technology House of Representatives Subject: Food Safety: FDA Has Begun to Take Action to Address Weaknesses in Food Safety Research, but Gaps Remain Dear Mr. Chairman: The United States faces challenges to ensuring food safety. First, imported food makes up a substantial and growing portion of the U.S. food supply, with 60 percent of fresh fruits and vegetables and 80 percent of seafood coming from across our borders. In recent years, there has been an increase in reported outbreaks of foodborne illness associated with both domestic and imported produce. Second, we are increasingly eating foods that are consumed raw and that have often been associated with foodborne illness outbreaks, including leafy greens such as spinach. Finally, shifting demographics means that more of the U.S. population is, and increasingly will be, susceptible to foodborne illnesses. The risk of severe and life- threatening conditions caused by foodborne illnesses is higher for older adults, young children, pregnant women, and immune-compromised individuals. In January 2007 GAO designated federal oversight of food safety as a high-risk area needing urgent attention and transformation because of the federal government's fragmented oversight of food safety.' The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for ensuring the safety of roughly 80 percent of the U.S. food supply-virtually all domestic and imported foods except for meat, poultry, and processed egg products-valued at a total of $466 billion annually, as of June 2008. In 2007 the FDA Science Board, an advisory board to the agency, reported that science at FDA suffers from serious deficiencies. In addition, our prior reviews of FDA's food safety programs have identified gaps in scientific information, limiting FDA's ability to oversee food labeling, fresh produce, and dietary supplements. Further, as part of our recent review on the effectiveness of the strategic planning and management efforts of FDA, 67 percent of FDA managers reported, in response to a GAO survey, that updated scientific technologies or other tools would greatly help them to contribute to FDA's goals and responsibilities; however, only 36 percent of managers reported that FDA was making great progress 1GAO, High-Risk Series: An Update, GAO-07-310 (Washington, D.C.: January 2007). GAO-10-182R

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