	Background

The safety and quality of the U.S. food supply is governed by a highly  complex system that is based on more than 30 laws and administered by  12 agencies. The United States Department of  Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), within  the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), have most of the  regulatory responsibilities for ensuring the safety of the nation’s food  supply and account for most federal food safety spending. Existing statutes give the agencies different regulatory and enforcement  authorities. Fragmented System Hampers the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Food Safety Efforts

As we have stated in numerous reports and testimonies, the fragmented  federal food safety system is not the product of strategic design. Rather, it  emerged piecemeal, over many decades, typically in response to particular  health threats or economic crises. In short, what authorities agencies have  to enforce food safety regulations, which agency has jurisdiction to  regulate what food products, and how frequently they inspect food  facilities is determined by the legislation that governs each agency, or by  administrative agreement between the two agencies, without strategic  design as to how to best protect public health. As a result there is fragmentation, inconsistency, and overlap  in the federal food safety system. Federal agencies’ different authorities result in inconsistent  inspection and enforcement. Frequency of inspections is not based on risk. Federal expenditures are not based on the volume of foods  regulated, consumed, or their risk of foodborne illness. As a result, expenditures for food safety activities are  disproportionate to the amount of food products each agency regulates  and to the level of public consumption of those food products. Emerging Terrorist Threats Highlight the Need to Reorganize the Federal Food Safety System

The fragmented legal and organizational structures of the federal food  safety system are now further challenged by the realization that American  farms and food are vulnerable to potential attack and deliberate  contamination. Fundamental Changes Needed to Improve Effectiveness and Efficiency of the Federal Food Safety System

To address the problems I have just outlined, a fundamental  transformation of the current food safety system is necessary. In our view, integrating  the overlapping and duplicative responsibilities for food safety into a  single agency or department can create synergy and economies of scale  that would provide for more focused and efficient efforts to protect the  nation’s food supply. It is time to ask whether a system that developed in a piecemeal  fashion in response to specific problems as they arose over the course of  several decades can efficiently and effectively respond to today’s  challenges. Matters for Congressional Consideration

To provide more efficient, consistent, and effective federal oversight of the  nation’s food supply, we suggest that the Congress consider    enacting comprehensive, uniform, and risk-based food safety legislation    establishing a single, independent food safety agency at the Cabinet level.
Why GAO Did This Study

The safety of the U.S. food supply is governed by a highly complex system of more than 30 laws administered by 12 agencies. In light of the recent focus on government reorganization, it is time to ask whether the current system can effectively and efficiently respond to today's challenges. At the request of the Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization, we reviewed and summarized our work on the safety and security of the food supply regarding (1) the fragmented legal and organizational structure of the federal food safety system, (2) the consequences of overlapping and inconsistent inspection and enforcement, and (3) options for consolidating food safety functions.

What GAO Found

As we have stated in numerous reports and testimonies, the federal food safety system is not the product of strategic design. Rather, it emerged piecemeal, over many decades, typically in response to particular health threats or economic crises. The result is a fragmented legal and organizational structure that gives responsibility for specific food commodities to different agencies and provides them with significantly different authorities and responsibilities. The existing food safety statutes create fragmented jurisdictions between the two principal food safety agencies, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). As a result, there are inconsistencies in the frequency of the agencies' inspections of food facilities and the enforcement authorities available to these agencies. In short, which agency has jurisdiction to regulate various food products, the regulatory authorities they have available to them, and how frequently they inspect food facilities is determined by disparate statutes or by administrative agreement between the two agencies, without strategic design as to how to best protect public health. In many instances, food processing facilities are inspected by both FDA and USDA. Furthermore, federal food safety efforts are based on statutory requirements, not risk. For example, funding for USDA and FDA is not proportionate to the amount of food products each agency regulates, to the level of public consumption of those foods, or to the frequency of foodborne illnesses associated with food products. A federal food safety system with diffused and overlapping lines of authority and responsibility cannot effectively and efficiently accomplish its mission and meet new food safety challenges. These challenges are more pressing today as we face emerging threats such as mad cow disease and the potential for deliberate contamination of our food supply through bioterrorism. Therefore, fundamental changes are needed. First, there is a need to overhaul existing food safety legislation to make it uniform, consistent, and risk based. Second, consolidation of food safety agencies under a single independent agency or a single department is needed to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the current federal food safety system. Integrating the overlapping responsibilities for food safety into a single agency or department can create synergy and economies of scale, as well as provide more focused and efficient efforts to protect the nation's food supply.