The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is not conducting enough inspections of food facilities, a report by the Government Accountability Office showed. The FDA is responsible for overseeing the safety of almost 80% of the the country’s food supply. Despite this mandate, the FDA has not met its goal for the number inspections of inspections of food facilities since 2018.
“The U.S. food supply is generally considered safe, but tens of millions of people get sick from foodborne illnesses each year,” the report stated. “FDA’s inspections are a proactive tool aimed at preventing food safety problems rather than reacting to outbreaks after they happen.”
Chronic understaffing has been a major barrier to the FDA meeting its goals. The report also revealed that the FDA has failed to create key objectives and measures that would make sure inspections are working to protect our food supply. For example, the agency has not taken more steps to reduce the number of incomplete inspections.
Full Story: CIDRAP
