Local, State Agencies Lack Resources to Ensure Food Safety

[ensho]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/16/AR2009041604389.html


Congress Must Fix System, Report Says


Local and state health officials trying to prevent food illness outbreaks are stymied by scarce resources, weak leadership from the federal government and bureaucratic barriers, according to a new study public health experts released yesterday.

While much of the current debate about improving food safety has focused on federal agencies -- the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- the bulk of food safety work is performed by about 3,000 local and state agencies, which handle everything from inspections of restaurants, food processing plants and grocery stores to detecting outbreaks and removing unsafe products from stores.

But those agencies are struggling, and Congress must reengineer the national system, according to an analysis by the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, based on consultations with health experts, consumer groups and food executives nationwide.

-snip-

The analysis describes a fractured collection of food safety professionals all trying to do the same thing -- prevent illness from contaminated food -- but their efforts are hampered by weak coordination, poor communication, varying abilities, inconsistent methods and a lack of federal leadership. The report urges Congress to create a single cohesive food safety network composed of local, state and federal agencies and accountable to the secretary of health and human services.

-snip-

In addition to their own inspections, state employees now perform more than half of the FDA's inspections under contracts with the agency.

The study can be found at http://www.thefsrc.org.
--------------------------------


this needs fixed as soon as possible.