Congress may need to intervene to assure the high-level coordination of food safety efforts, said the Government Accountability Office on Wednesday in a report listing three dozen “high-risk” areas throughout the government. Food safety has been on the high-risk list since 2007. Fifteen agencies enforce 30 laws to ensure that imported and domestically produced food is safe to eat.
Over the years, there have been efforts to coordinate the work of the agencies. In 2009, the Obama administration created a Food Safety Working Group. “This group, however, is no longer meeting,” said the GAO. It recommended that the Trump administration develop a national strategy for food safety that would assure sustained leadership. “Congress should consider directing OMB to develop a government-wide performance plan for food safety,” said the GAO report. “Congress should also consider formalizing the Food Safety Working Group through statute to help ensure a sustained leadership across food safety agencies over time.”
Last year, President Trump proposed combining into a single agency the food safety duties of the FDA and the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. The GAO said the reorganization would be a step forward but that additional action by the administration and Congress is needed to put the idea to work.
The “high risk” report is issued every two years, coinciding with the start of a congressional session and identifies federal operations that are vulnerable to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement or in need of an overhaul to become more efficient or to meet Americans’ needs. This year’s GAO list includes the 2020 census, cybersecurity, and improving health care for veterans.