Chew On This: The FDA Food Safety Program Could Actually Put Public Health at Risk

A new report released by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) alleges that the FDA isn't properly protecting the nation's food supply and that outbreaks of foodborne illness will continue unless the FDA makes significant changes.

There are about 76 million cases of foodborne illness in the U.S. every year. Of those cases, more than 300,000 people are hospitalized and 5,000 die.

The report suggests that the FDA move away from a "reactive" style of management that works on a case-by-case basis to one that includes strategic planning, ranking hazard risks, performing targeted surveillance and designing an intervention plan. In theory, the new style of management would allow the FDA to catch problems before they become outbreaks.

Other report recommendations included calling upon the FDA to create review standards and asking federal officials to create a separate food safety data agency. This agency would be responsible for collecting information and assessing risks to determine the best action to take.

Food safety regulation is a nebulous area and is actually overseen by several different agencies. The FDA oversees about 80 percent of the food supply, including produce, seafood and dairy. It's also responsible for more than one million restaurants and food establishments, 150,000+ food facilities, upwards of two million farms and millions of tons of imported food. The Department of Agriculture is responsible for meat, poultry and egg products. State and local agencies typically handle inspecting food production facilities and handle surveillance and investigating illness outbreaks.

The report was the result of Congress asking the Institute of Medicine to take a look at problems and work with the FDA to improve food safety.

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