Food Business News - June 4, 2013 - 24

Washington

F.S.M.A. at a
F.D.A. report says more
funding needed to
fully implement the
new food safety law
he Food and Drug Administration in a report submitted to Congress on May 23
asserted the agency required $400
million to $450 million in additional funding each year through
fiscal year 2017 to fully implement
the historic F.D.A. Food Safety
Modernization Act. The act was
passed with strong bipartisan
support in 2010 and signed into
law on Jan. 4, 2011. It mandated
an overhaul of U.S. food safety
programs and a shift toward
preventing food safety problems
from occurring instead of just
reacting to them after they occur.

JAY SJERVEN

jsjerven@sosland.com

FOODBUSINESS NEWS

The report titled “Building
domestic capacity to implement
the F.D.A. Food Safety Modernization Act (F.S.M.A)” documented the progress the F.D.A.
has made during the past two
years in building the foundation
upon which further progress in
F.S.M.A. implementation may be
based, and it identified additional
programs and practices needed
to promote the safety of the U.S.
food supply. The report emphasized Congress knew when it
passed the act increased funding
would be needed to ensure its
success and that the increased
funding was needed now.
Michael R. Taylor, the F.D.A.’s
deputy commissioner for foods
and veterinary medicine, said,
“The promise of F.S.M.A. to modernize the food safety system in
the United States and to significantly reduce the burden of foodborne illness cannot be realized

without additional funding. Rules
can be written, but they can’t be
implemented effectively and efficiently with current funding.”
Mr. Taylor said investments
were needed to provide guidance and technical assistance
to industry, train federal and
state inspectors, modernize
and strengthen the inspection
program to ensure quality and
consistency nationwide, and
implement a new import oversight system that will ensure
the safety of imported food and
create a level playing field for
the U.S. food industry.
“The Congressional Budget
Office estimated that the first
five years of F.S.M.A. implementation would require an increase
of $583 million over F.D.A.’s
2010 base budget,” Mr. Taylor
said. “In the fiscal year 2011 and
2012 F.D.A. budgets, Congress
added a total of $100 million to

the base budget. We estimate
that F.D.A. will need an additional $400 million to $450 million in funds added to its fiscal
year 2012 base to make F.S.M.A.
a fully successful initiative.”
The report asserted if the
F.D.A. does not have sufficient
resources to modernize and
reform food safety, the agency
will be unable to meet the expectations of Congress, the food
industry and the public, and
the United States will not move
from a “chase problems after
they occur” system to one based
on good science and prevention
of problems before they happen.
The F.D.A., with a headquarters staff of about 900 and a field
staff of 2,600 composed of inspectors and other compliance
staff, is expected to oversee 80%
of the U.S. food supply, including
most food imports; a $1.1 trillion
food processing industry; more

June 4, 2013

Food Business News - June 4, 2013

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