As we said earlier, for more than 4 decades, we have reported on the  fragmented nature of federal food safety oversight. When we added the federal oversight of food safety to our list of high-risk  areas in January 2007, we found that a challenge for the 21st century  was to find a way for federal agencies with food safety responsibilities to  integrate the myriad food safety programs and strategically manage their  portfolios to promote the safety and integrity of the nation’s food supply. HHS and USDA Have Taken Some Actions Since 2014 to Address Fragmentation, but USDA and OMB Have Not Fully Addressed the Need for Government-Wide Planning

HHS and USDA have taken some actions since 2014 to address  fragmentation in the federal food safety oversight system, and OMB has  focused on implementing FSMA, but USDA’s and OMB’s actions have not  fully addressed our two recommendations for government-wide planning. Since 2014, HHS and USDA have continued and expanded collaboration  on specific food safety issues, and HHS has updated its strategic plan to  address interagency coordination on food safety. Food Safety and Other Experts Suggested That a National Strategy Is Needed to Improve the Federal Food Safety Oversight System

Food safety and government performance experts identified the  development and implementation of a national strategy for food safety as  a first step toward improving the federal food safety oversight system. Experts Agreed That There Is a Compelling Need to Develop a National Food Safety Strategy and Identified Its Key Elements

The 19 experts attending our 2-day meeting agreed that there is a  compelling need to develop a national strategy to provide a framework for  strengthening the federal food safety oversight system and addressing  fragmentation. Purpose: The starting point for developing a national strategy  includes defining the problem, developing a mission statement, and  identifying goals. The  leadership should reside at the highest level of the administration and  needs to have authority to implement the national strategy and be  accountable for its progress. Resources: The national strategy should identify staffing and funding  requirements and the sources of funding for implementing the  strategy. Monitoring: The national strategy should establish milestones that  specify time frames, baselines, and metrics to monitor progress. The  national strategy should be sufficiently flexible to incorporate changes  identified through monitoring and evaluation of progress. Actions: In addition to long-term actions, the national strategy should  include short-term actions, such as improving training for food safety  officials, to gain traction on improving the food safety system. Actions  should focus on preventing, rather than reacting to, outbreaks of  foodborne illnesses. Although the experts did not specify which entity should lead the national  strategy, past efforts to develop high-level strategic planning for food  safety have depended on leadership from entities within the Executive  Office of the President (EOP), such as the Domestic Policy Council  (DPC), the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and OMB. A National Strategy Could Provide a Framework for Addressing Our Recommendation for a Government-Wide Plan, Our Matters for Congress to Consider for Leadership and Planning, and Criteria for Removing Federal Food Safety Oversight from Our High-Risk List

Developing a national strategy for food safety oversight, as suggested by  the experts, could provide a framework for addressing our March 2011  recommendation for a government-wide plan and our December 2014  matters for congressional consideration for leadership and government- wide planning. These  elements are consistent with characteristics that we have identified as  desirable in a national strategy. Recommendation for Executive Action

To guide the nation’s efforts to improve the federal food safety oversight  system and address ongoing fragmentation, we recommend that the  appropriate entities within the EOP, in consultation with relevant federal  agencies and other stakeholders, develop a national strategy that states  the purpose of the strategy, establishes high-level sustained leadership,  identifies resource requirements, monitors progress, and identifies short-  and long-term actions to improve the food safety oversight system. USDA disagreed with the need for a  national strategy but cited factors to consider should changes be  proposed. To guide the nation’s efforts to improve the federal food safety oversight  system and address ongoing fragmentation, we recommended that the  appropriate entities within the EOP, in consultation with relevant federal  agencies and other stakeholders, develop a national strategy that states  the purpose of the strategy, established high-level sustained leadership,  identifies resource requirements, monitors progress, and identifies short-  and long-term actions to improve the food safety oversight system.
Why GAO Did This Study

Although the U.S. food supply is generally considered safe, foodborne illness remains a common, costly, yet largely preventable public health problem. The safety and quality of food involves 16 federal agencies. For more than 4 decades, GAO has reported on the fragmented federal food safety oversight system. Because of potential risks to the economy and to public health and safety, food safety has remained on GAO's list of high-risk areas since 2007.
GAO was asked to examine efforts toward and options for addressing fragmentation in the federal food safety oversight system. This report (1) describes the actions HHS, USDA, and OMB have taken since 2014 to address fragmentation and evaluates the extent to which these agencies have addressed two prior GAO recommendations for government-wide planning and (2) assesses actions that food safety and other experts suggest are needed to improve the federal food safety oversight system. GAO convened an expert meeting, reviewed agency documents, and interviewed agency officials.

What GAO Found

Since 2014, the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the federal agencies with primary responsibility for food safety oversight, have taken some actions to address fragmentation in the federal food safety oversight system, and HHS has updated its strategic plan to address interagency coordination on food safety. However, USDA has not yet fully implemented GAO's December 2014 recommendation that it describe interagency collaboration on food safety in its strategic and performance planning documents. In addition, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has not addressed GAO's March 2011 recommendation to develop a government-wide plan for the federal food safety oversight system.
At a 2-day meeting GAO hosted in June 2016, 19 food safety and other experts agreed that there is a compelling need to develop a national strategy to address ongoing fragmentation and improve the federal food safety oversight system. This is consistent with a prior GAO finding that complex interagency and intergovernmental efforts can benefit from developing a national strategy. The experts identified the following key elements of such a strategy:
Purpose: The starting point for a national strategy includes defining the problem, developing a mission statement, and identifying goals.
Leadership: The national strategy should establish sustained leadership at the highest level of the administration with authority to implement the strategy and be accountable for its progress. The strategy also needs to identify roles and responsibilities and involve all stakeholders.
Resources: The national strategy should identify staffing and funding requirements and the sources of funding for its implementation.
Monitoring: The national strategy should establish milestones that specify time frames, baselines, and metrics to monitor progress. The strategy should be sufficiently flexible to incorporate changes identified through monitoring and evaluation of progress.
Actions: In addition to long-term actions, the national strategy should include short-term actions to gain traction in improving the food safety system. Actions should focus on preventing, rather than reacting to, outbreaks of foodborne illnesses.
These elements are consistent with characteristics GAO has previously identified as desirable in national strategies. Past efforts to develop high-level strategic planning for food safety have depended on leadership from the Executive Office of the President (EOP). By developing a national strategy to guide the federal food safety oversight system and address ongoing fragmentation, the EOP, in consultation with relevant federal agencies and other stakeholders, could provide a framework for making organizational and resource decisions. Among other things, such a strategy also could provide a framework for addressing GAO's recommendation for a government-wide plan and for removing food safety oversight from GAO's High-Risk List.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that the appropriate entities within the EOP, in consultation with stakeholders, develop a national strategy to guide the federal food safety oversight system and address ongoing fragmentation. HHS, OMB, and the Domestic Policy Council did not comment on the recommendation. USDA disagreed with the need for a national strategy but cited factors to consider should changes be proposed. GAO believes the recommendation should be implemented.