Hyo Jin Lee, JD Anticipated May 2024, Law and Public Policy Scholar
Foodborne illness in the U.S. remains a costly and common public health problem. The number of Americans affected by foodborne outbreaks has been on the rise since 1998, despite countless attempts by the federal food safety oversight system to eradicate the problem. One of the main reasons that the U.S. government has had limited success in fixing the problem is the fragmentation of the federal food safety oversight system.
As new needs for food safety oversight arise, Congress assigns new tasks related to food safety to various different agencies. Currently, the safety and quality of the food supply are governed by a system administered by sixteen federal agencies, causing inefficiency and confusion. Out of these sixteen agencies, three organizations play the biggest role in monitoring food safety: the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
There are several things that can be done at the federal level to ensure the safety and efficiency of our food supply for everyone. Representative DeLauro (D-CT 3d) and Senator Durbin (D-IL) recently reintroduced the Food Safety Administration (FSA) Act, which they had first proposed in 1999. The FSA Act would establish the Food Safety Administration under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) by incorporating the existing food programs within the FDA into this separate agency, so they can better tackle the food safety issues.
Suggestions for Improving the FSA
Establishing the FSA within the FDA is a praiseworthy attempt to focus on food safety, but a few changes should be made to improve this plan. Even though the FDA regulates most of our food supply, it is the USDA that oversees meat, poultry, and eggs. Given that meat, poultry, and eggs take up almost 40% of all foodborne illnesses, it makes sense for FDA to collaborate with the USDA to ensure food safety in all types of food. Accordingly, the USDA and the CDC, along with the FDA, should be included in establishing the FSA to generate maximum efficiency.
In 2018, President Trump argued in favor of consolidating different federal agencies by eliminating the food safety functions of the FDA to join a new group under the USDA. My idea is different from this plan, and I am suggesting only the food safety part of the USDA, FDA, and CDC cooperate through the consolidation of specific agencies and offices within them. Specifically, my plan would combine the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN)—the agency that tackles food safety issues besides meat, poultry, and eggs—with the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)—the agency that takes care of the meat, poultry, and eggs—and the CDC’s Food Safety Office (FSO)—the agency that investigates foodborne illness outbreaks. Such a consolidation will generate efficiency and productivity. However, there are potential problems that this plan could entail.
If we decided to establish a new agency for food safety, transferring the workers from the USDA, FDA, and CDC would be necessary. This process can be very complicated when these three agencies’ work overlaps, and firing current workers would cause a problem. This type of restructuring and reorganization also may not be the most popular political decision, which could be why it has not occurred.
Likewise, a meaningful consolidation would require a complete overhaul of federal food safety laws and regulations, which would be a task of “extraordinary legal and political complexity.” Beyond that, having one centralized authority to take care of all food safety issues is only a start, not a cure-all. Additional important reforms would include creating updated standards that the new agency should follow to target food safety issues more effectively.
Critics worry that consolidating all the food safety departments from the CDC, FDA, and USDA would generate further fragmentation within one consolidated industry. For example, one commentator noted that “transferring the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine’s program for regulating drug residues in beef and poultry to the USDA would separate it from the FDA’s veterinary drug approval program.” Even so, the status quo of leaving each agency (CDC, FDA, and USDA) to manage things on their own is not providing an ideal environment. Accordingly, it is necessary to devise a plan to change the scene and tackle things more effectively to ensure the food safety of the public.
Conclusion
Consolidation of federal agencies is easier said than done. Nonetheless, the status quo does not provide an answer to most issues we face, and there are many potential benefits from having one centralized agency responsible for food safety. Finding where to start and where to focus presents a challenge. However, we have come to a point where a change is needed to protect consumers.
To date, the collaborative efforts between the agencies have been limited and ineffective. It is time for a drastic change, such as the creation of the Food Safety Administration (FSA) within the FDA. A consolidated agency will prevent the current overlap within multiple agencies and present a uniform front to tackle foodborne illnesses and ensure public safety.