HHS and USDA vary in the amount  of detail they provide on their crosscutting food safety efforts in their  individual strategic and performance planning documents. 1 and 2.) For example, FDA and FSIS officials both told us that they  colead the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System, which  tracks whether foodborne and other bacteria are resistant to the  antibiotics used to treat and prevent the spread of illness. Agency Strategic and Performance Planning Documents Do Not Provide an Integrated Perspective on Federal Food Safety Performance

Fully addressing crosscutting food safety efforts in individual strategic and  performance planning documents is an important first step toward  providing a comprehensive picture of the federal government’s  performance in overseeing food safety. Without a government-wide performance plan for food safety, Congress,  program managers, and other decision makers are hampered in their  ability to identify agencies and programs addressing similar missions and   However, OMB has not taken action in almost 4 years to  to set priorities, allocate resources, and restructure federal efforts, as  needed, to achieve long-term goals. In addition, without such a plan,  federal food safety efforts are not clear and transparent to the public. FDA and FSIS Have Mechanisms in Place to Facilitate Interagency Coordination, but None Provides Centralized, Broad- Based Collaboration

Our analysis identified numerous collaborative mechanisms involving  FDA and FSIS, but these mechanisms focus on specific issues and do  not provide for broad-based, centralized collaboration that would allow  FDA, FSIS, and other agencies to look across their individual food safety  programs and determine how they all contribute to federal food safety  goals. The FSWG  served as a centralized mechanism for broad-based collaboration on food  safety and resulted in a number of accomplishments, such as improved  interagency coordination. However, our review indicated that the FSWG  is no longer meeting. For example, FDA and FSIS are collaborating with CDC  through IFSAC to improve estimates of the most common sources of  foodborne illnesses. Experts Agreed That a Centralized Mechanism for Broad-Based Collaboration Could Enhance Food Safety Oversight

Nearly all—10 of the 12—experts in food safety we interviewed agreed  that a centralized collaborative mechanism on food safety is important to  foster effective interagency collaboration and could enhance food safety  oversight. For example, none provides a forum for food  safety agencies to reach agreement on a set of broad-based food safety  goals and objectives. Conclusions

HHS and USDA have both taken steps to implement GPRAMA’s  crosscutting requirements for their food safety efforts. In March 2011, we  recommended that OMB, in consultation with the federal agencies having  food safety responsibilities, develop a government-wide performance plan  for food safety. Experts on food safety suggested  that a centralized collaborative mechanism on food safety—like the  FSWG—could provide sustained leadership across food safety agencies  over time if it were formalized in statute. Without such formalization,  centralized collaborative mechanisms for food safety may continue to be  short-lived. Recommendation for Executive Action

To help ensure that their food safety goals are complementary and  strategies are mutually reinforcing, we recommend that the Secretary of  Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services continue to  build upon their efforts to implement GPRAMA requirements to address  crosscutting food safety efforts, including by more fully describing in their  strategic and performance planning documents how they are working with  other agencies to achieve their food safety-related goals and objectives. Matters for Congressional Consideration

Because challenges associated with the fragmented federal food safety  system are long-standing, decision makers do not have an integrated  perspective on federal food safety performance, and centralized  mechanisms for broad-based collaboration have not been sustained,  Congress should consider directing OMB to develop a government-wide performance plan for  food safety that includes results oriented goals and performance  measures and a discussion of strategies and resources, and  formalizing the FSWG through statute to help ensure sustained  leadership across food safety agencies over time. Agency Comments and Our Evaluation

We provided a draft of this report for review and comment to the  Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Director of the Office of  Management and Budget, and the Secretary of Agriculture. HHS, OMB, and USDA also provided technical comments, which  we incorporated as appropriate. Key contributors to this report are listed in appendix V.

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our review provides information on: (1) Department of Health and Human  Services (HHS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)  implementation of GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRAMA)  requirements for addressing crosscutting efforts in their food safety  strategic and performance planning, and (2) the extent to which the two  agencies primarily responsible for federal food safety oversight—HHS’s  Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and USDA’s Food Safety and  Inspection Service (FSIS)—have a centralized mechanism in place to  collaborate broadly across federal food safety regulations and programs. We also interviewed OMB staff and officials  from HHS and USDA regarding federal food safety strategic and  performance planning and crosscutting efforts.
Why GAO Did This Study

For more than a decade, GAO has reported on the fragmented federal food safety system. In 2007, GAO added federal oversight of food safety to its list of high-risk areas because of risks to the economy and to public health and safety.
GAO conducted this work under the authority of the Comptroller General to assist Congress with its food safety oversight responsibilities. This report examines (1) HHS and USDA implementation of GPRAMA requirements for addressing crosscutting efforts in their food safety strategic and performance planning and (2) the extent to which FDA and FSIS have a centralized mechanism in place to collaborate across federal food safety programs. GAO reviewed relevant legislation and agency documentation; analyzed responses from food safety experts; and interviewed OMB staff and officials from FDA and FSIS.

What GAO Found

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have taken steps to implement GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRAMA) requirements but could more fully address crosscutting food safety efforts. For example, GPRAMA requires agencies to describe in their strategic and performance planning how they are working with other agencies to achieve their goals. HHS and USDA vary in the amount of detail they provide on their crosscutting food safety efforts. In addition, they do not include several relevant crosscutting efforts, such as the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System, which tracks whether foodborne bacteria are resistant to the antibiotics used to treat and prevent illness.
Fully addressing crosscutting efforts in individual strategic and performance planning documents is an important first step toward providing a comprehensive picture of federal food safety performance. However, individual agencies' documents do not provide an integrated perspective on federal food safety performance. In 2011, GAO recommended that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in consultation with the federal agencies having food safety responsibilities, develop a government-wide performance plan for food safety. OMB has not acted on that recommendation. Without such a plan, Congress, program managers, and other decision makers are hampered in their ability to identify agencies and programs addressing similar missions and to set priorities, allocate resources, and restructure federal efforts, as needed, to achieve long-term goals. In addition, without such a plan, federal food safety efforts are not clear and transparent to the public. GAO continues to believe that a government-wide performance plan for food safety is necessary.
HHS's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) have mechanisms in place to facilitate interagency coordination on food safety that focus on specific issues, but none provides for broad-based, centralized collaboration. For example, FDA and FSIS are collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration to improve estimates of foodborne illness sources. However, this and other mechanisms do not allow FDA, FSIS, and other agencies to look across their individual programs and determine how they all contribute to federal food safety goals. Nearly all the experts GAO interviewed agreed that a centralized collaborative mechanism on food safety is important to foster effective interagency collaboration and could enhance food safety oversight. The Food Safety Working Group (FSWG) served as a centralized mechanism for broad-based food safety collaboration and resulted in a number of accomplishments, including improved coordination. However, the FSWG is no longer meeting. A prior centralized mechanism for broad-based collaboration on food safety also was not sustained. Without a centralized collaborative mechanism on food safety, there is no forum for agencies to reach agreement on a set of broad-based food safety goals and objectives. Experts suggested that a centralized collaborative mechanism on food safety--like the FSWG--could provide sustained leadership across agencies over time if it were formalized in statute. Without such formalization, centralized collaborative mechanisms on food safety may continue to be short-lived.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that HHS and USDA build upon their efforts to implement GPRAMA requirements to fully address crosscutting food safety efforts. Congress should consider (1) directing OMB to develop a government-wide food safety performance plan and (2) formalizing the FSWG through statute to help ensure sustained leadership across food safety agencies over time. GAO provided a draft of this report for review and comment to HHS, OMB, and USDA. HHS and USDA agreed with the recommendation. HHS, OMB, and USDA provided technical comments, which GAO incorporated as appropriate.