Download or read book Gao 05 213 Oversight of Food Safety Activities written by United States Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-02 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: GAO-05-213, OVERSIGHT OF FOOD SAFETY ACTIVITIES: Federal Agencies Should Pursue Opportunities to Reduce Overlap and Better Leverage Resources

Download or read book Oversight of Food Safety Activities written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: GAO has documented many problems resulting from the fragmented nature of the federal food safety system and recommended fundamental restructuring to ensure the effective use of scarce government resources. In this report, GAO (1) identified overlaps in food safety activities at USDA, FDA, EPA, and NMFS; (2) analyzed the extent to which the agencies use interagency agreements to leverage resources; and (3) obtained the views of stakeholders. Several statutes give responsibility for different segments of the food supply to different agencies to ensure that the food supply is safe. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have the primary responsibility for regulating food safety, with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) also involved. In carrying out their responsibilities, with respect to both domestic and imported food, these agencies spend resources on a number of overlapping activities, such as inspection/enforcement, training, research, or rulemaking. For example, both USDA and FDA conduct similar inspections at 1,451 dual jurisdiction establishments--facilities that produce foods regulated by both agencies. Under authority granted by the Bioterrorism Act of 2002, FDA could authorize USDA inspectors to inspect these facilities, but it has not done so. Furthermore, USDA and FDA maintain separate training programs on similar topics for their inspectors that could be shared. Ultimately, inspection and training resources could be used more efficiently. GAO identified 71 interagency agreements that the agencies entered into to better protect public health and to coordinate their food safety activities. However, the agencies have weak mechanisms for tracking these agreements that, in some cases, lead to ineffective implementation. Specifically, USDA and FDA are not fully implementing an agreement to facilitate the exchange of information about dual jurisdiction establishments, which both agencies inspect. In addition, FDA and NMFS are not implementing an agreement designed to enable each agency to discharge its seafood responsibilities effectively. GAO spoke with selected industry associations, food companies, consumer groups, and academic experts, and they disagree on the extent of overlap and on how best to improve the food safety system. Most of these stakeholders agreed that laws and regulations should be modernized to more effectively and efficiently control food safety hazards, but they differed about whether to consolidate food safety functions into a single agency.

Download or read book Federal Oversight of Food Safety High Risk Designation Can Bring Needed Attention to Fragmented System written by and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2007 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Enhancing Food Safety written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2010-11-04 with total page 589 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent outbreaks of illnesses traced to contaminated sprouts and lettuce illustrate the holes that exist in the system for monitoring problems and preventing foodborne diseases. Although it is not solely responsible for ensuring the safety of the nation's food supply, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees monitoring and intervention for 80 percent of the food supply. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's abilities to discover potential threats to food safety and prevent outbreaks of foodborne illness are hampered by impediments to efficient use of its limited resources and a piecemeal approach to gathering and using information on risks. Enhancing Food Safety: The Role of the Food and Drug Administration, a new book from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council, responds to a congressional request for recommendations on how to close gaps in FDA's food safety systems. Enhancing Food Safety begins with a brief review of the Food Protection Plan (FPP), FDA's food safety philosophy developed in 2007. The lack of sufficient detail and specific strategies in the FPP renders it ineffectual. The book stresses the need for FPP to evolve and be supported by the type of strategic planning described in these pages. It also explores the development and implementation of a stronger, more effective food safety system built on a risk-based approach to food safety management. Conclusions and recommendations include adopting a risk-based decision-making approach to food safety; creating a data surveillance and research infrastructure; integrating federal, state, and local government food safety programs; enhancing efficiency of inspections; and more. Although food safety is the responsibility of everyone, from producers to consumers, the FDA and other regulatory agencies have an essential role. In many instances, the FDA must carry out this responsibility against a backdrop of multiple stakeholder interests, inadequate resources, and competing priorities. Of interest to the food production industry, consumer advocacy groups, health care professionals, and others, Enhancing Food Safety provides the FDA and Congress with a course of action that will enable the agency to become more efficient and effective in carrying out its food safety mission in a rapidly changing world.

Download or read book Federal Oversight of Food Safety FDA s Food Protection Plan Proposes Positive First Steps But Capacity to Carry Them Out Is Critical written by Lisa Shames and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2008-05 with total page 19 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The FDA is responsible for ensuring the safety of 80% of the U.S. food supply, including $417 billion worth of domestic food & $49 billion in imported food annually. Recent outbreaks caused by food contamination highlight the risks posed by the accidental contamination of FDA-regulated food products. Changing demographics & consumption patterns underscore the urgency for effective food safety oversight. In Nov. 2007, FDA released plans that discuss the oversight of food safety. This testimony focuses on: fed. oversight of food safety as a high-risk area that needs a governmentwide reexamination; FDA¿S opportunities to better leverage its resources; FDA¿s ¿Food Protection Plan,¿ & tools that can help agencies to address mgmt. challenges. Illus.

Download or read book Federal Food Safety Oversight written by Lisa Shames and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2011-05 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For more than a decade, reports have been issued on the fragmented nature of federal food safety oversight and how it results in inconsistent oversight, ineffective coordination, and inefficient use of resources. In March 2009, the Pres. established the Food Safety Working Group (FSWG) to coordinate federal efforts and establish food safety goals to make food safer. This report identifies programs, agencies, offices, and initiatives with duplicative goals and activities. It examines: (1) steps, if any, that the FSWG has taken to increase collaboration among federal food safety agencies; and (2) options that have been identified to reduce fragmentation, overlap, and potential duplication in food safety oversight. illustrations. This is a print on demand report.

Download or read book Activities of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Overseeing the U S food supply steps should be taken to reduce overlapping inspections and related activities testimony before the Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce and Agency Organization Committee on Government Reform House of Representatives written by and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Agriculture Rural Development Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations for 2015 written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 596 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Seafood Safety FDA Needs to Improve Oversight of Imported Seafood and Better Leverage Limited Resources written by and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on with total page 51 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Question what is more scrambled than an egg written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Government Reform. Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce and Agency Organization and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Agriculture Rural Development and Related Agencies Appropriations written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 1928 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Agriculture Rural Development and Related Agencies Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2007 written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 1928 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Addressing Foodborne Threats to Health written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2006-10-18 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In December 2004, at a press conference called to announce his departure as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Tommy Thompson raised both concern and controversy when he remarked that he could not understand why the terrorists had not yet attacked our food supply "because it is so easy to do." Although to date the United States has been spared such a disaster, the many documented examples of unintentional outbreaks of foodborne disease-some of which have sickened hundreds of thousands of people, and killed hundreds-provide a grim basis for estimating the impact of deliberate food adulteration. Due to the wide variety of potential chemical and biological agents that could be introduced at many vulnerable points along the food supply continuum, contaminating food is considered an especially simple, yet effective, means to threaten large populations. To explore the nature and extent of such threats, possibilities for reducing their impact, and obstacles to this goal, the Forum on Microbial Threats of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) convened the workshop Foodborne Threats to Health: The Policies and Practice of Surveillance, Prevention, Outbreak Investigations, and International Coordination on October 25 and 26, 2005. Workshop participants discussed the threat spectrum and burden of disease associated with foodborne illness and the role that increasing globalization of food production and distribution plays in the transmission of foodborne disease. Participants also reviewed existing research, policies, and practices concerning foodborne threats in order to identify unmet needs, challenges, and opportunities for improving food safety systems, surveillance, and emergency response. Although this workshop summary provides an account of the individual presentations, it also reflects an important aspect of the Forum philosophy. The workshop functions as a dialogue among representatives from different sectors and presents their beliefs on which areas may merit further attention. However, the reader should be aware that the material presented here expresses the views and opinions of the individuals participating in the workshop and not the deliberations of a formally constituted IOM study committee. These proceedings summarize only what participants stated in the workshop and are not intended to be an exhaustive exploration of the subject matter or a representation of consensus evaluation.

Download or read book American Lives Still at Risk written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Energy and Commerce. Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Food Consumption and Policy written by Jayson L. Lusk and published by Oxford Handbooks. This book was released on 2013-08-15 with total page 923 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First reference on food consumption and policy.

Download or read book Bubble Gum Badge written by Patrick Stone and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2011-07-22 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contents Chapter 1 The Journey begins Chapter 2 Food work Chapter 3 BIMO Training Chapter 4 BIMO Inspections Chapter 5 International BIMO Inspections Chapter 6 Official-Action-Indicated (OAI) Work Chapter 7 Electronic-Records Review Chapter 8 Regional/District Management Issues Preface A few years ago, I put together a collection of my thoughts regarding the US FDA and my personal experiences over 13 years as a field investigator in Texas. Since then I have had the opportunity to experience a world of new opportunities as a consultant, so I thought it was time to revisit the Bubblegum Badge world. Along with a few colleagues, I have added several new sections and have tightened up some of the language and phrasing. It is, as with everything in life, still a work in progress. As I said in the first edition of this book, I dont intend this book to be either a roasting or a toasting. I hope what it will do is provide a glimpse of what the FDA does well, and what it needs to improve on (as evidenced by audit reports from the Health and Human Services [HHS] Office of Inspector General [OIG]). The name Bubble Gum Badge, by no means suggests a weak or ineffective organization, rather, it is something my friend from the Imports Division stated during a happy hour we were at in 1999. He put it this way: If you think that gold FDA badge is going to get you out of trouble, son, you are wrong! Its a Bubble Gum Badge and is more trouble than you have ever known. Thankfully, I did not get into any real trouble as a young man with a great responsibility to protect and serve. There are many ways to keep harmful products from the US market, and some of which take longer than the proverbial slow boat to China. I was a frontline grunt out in the field, conducting the FDA business of the day. Those twelve years and eight months were some of the most challenging and rewarding moments any one person could ask for. When you sit down to eat today or see your family member take their medications or go into surgery, you can rest assured that at least one of the FDAs finest had at some point in the products life cycle taken a look to see if it passed inspection. FDA does the work that is most taken for granted and expected as a given by the US public. Your tax dollars were always hard at work when I was on the job, even though it may not have always appeared that way. I would like to thank the FDA for taking me around the world and giving me the best training anyone can ask for in this quality assurance (QA) business (on-the-job training). FDA needs your help and more regulatory authority for biologics, drugs, and devices. Only Congress can grant more FDA authority, and budget battles seem to be the mainstay. Most of the information I reference comes from the public domain site www.fda.gov. The FDAs mission is too important not to be modernized, supported, and innovated. FDA falling behind in modernization would mean lives at risk globally. The oversight of our global health market is waiting. If you want it and qualify, your official gold FDA badge is waiting for you. FDA has mine in a vault next to my government international passport (I have my old decommissioned one). Anyone reading this book can be an FDA Consumer-safety officer (CSO)/investigator. Trust me when I say sixty semester hours of accredited college science and some luck on the computer lottery (usaJobs.opm.gov) and youre in. I would suggest higher than a Bachelor of Science education for entry into bioresearch monitoring. As an ex-FDA recruiter and mentor to many new hire FDA field investigators, I would say a graduate degree or higher also assures your entry to drug and device program field work. So, take a look behind the kitchen, Pharmacy, and hospital operation-room doors with me. Thank you, global health providers and professionals (all of you)! Thank you, health-care receivers, all of you; without you, there would be no need for health-care products. I think that includes everyone in the world! Thank you for your time and for coming along to take a microscopic view into one of the most unsung agencies. FDA has very little glitz or glamour and I hope you find something you find interesting in this book.