Ensuring Safe Food From Production to Consumption (1998) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix B CRS Report for Congress, Food Safety: Recommendations for Changes in the Organization of Federal Food Safety Responsibilities, 1949-1997
Appendix B CRS Report for Congress, Food Safety: Recommendations for Changes in the Organization of Federal Food Safety Responsibilities, 1949-1997
Pages 115-160
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From page 115... ...
B Food Safety: Recommendations for Changes in the Organization of Federal Food Safety Responsibilities, ~ 949 ~ 997 April 2l, 1998 Donna U Vogt Analyst in Social Sciences Science, Technology, and Medicine Division Congressional Research Service The library of Congress NOTE: Formatted from a file version received from Dorma U
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The categories of organization are as follows: an independent single food safety agency, We U.S. Department of Agriculture, or the Food and Drug Administration, or with the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
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responsibility for all food products should be given to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
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118 _~~ Supporters of Me ~ rec~end~10n Flaw ~ under We CPSC, Me -memed federal Doria far Mod saw could be modernized ad focused on prig U.S. consumers by s_~en~g tic lags 10 idea ad see public beam deponed.
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From page 119... ...
Lester Crawford, 1980 Dr. Sanford Miller, 1989 The Edwards FDA Advisory Committee, May 1991 National Perfonnance Review, September 1993 Carol Tucker Foreman, Safe Food Coalition, October 6, 1993 Hearings in Support of the Vice President's National Performance Review Recommendations for Reinventing the Food Safety System, 1993-1994 Food Safety Under He Consumer Product Safety Commission The Metzenbaum Bill, 1993 119 121 121 127 129 130 132 132 133 134 136 136 137 138 139 140 140 141 143 143 144 145 146 147 147 148 149 150 152 153 153
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Recommendations for Changes in the Federal Organization of Food Safety Responsibilities, 1949-1997 ENSURING SAFE FOOD 126 154
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During the past five decades, those concerns have led the executive branch and Congress to consider recommendations for changes in the organization of federal food safety efforts. This report summarizes twenty-one sets of recommendations, presented to the President or to Congress between 1949 and 1997 to change the structure of food safety responsibilities.
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. 4Lauffier Hayes and Frank Rum, "The Administration of the Federal Food and Drugs Act," in Food and Drug Law: Cases and Materials, ed.
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5, June 1981, 16. 7Michael Brannon,"Organizing and Reorganizing FDA," in Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Commemorative Volume of Food and Drug Law, Food and Drug Law Institute Series, (Washington, D.C., Food Drug Law Institute, 1984)
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From page 124... ...
Consumers began to support the idea that there should be federal premarket approval for both drugs and substances added to foods. On June 25, 1938, President Roosevelt signed into law the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938~° (FFDCA)
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From page 125... ...
He claimed, This activity might be associated with other health or public welfare work. Meat inspection is of course a technical job and it seems logical to have the technical inspectors attached to the bureau most competent in this field t2 However, President Roosevelt was not persuaded; meat and poultry inspection remained within USDA.
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From page 126... ...
1906 Pure Food Act Food, Drug, and USDA 1906 Appropriations Act Insecticide Ad ministration 193~194013 1938 Federal Food, Drug, Food and Drug and Cosmetic Act Administration (FFDCA) USDA 194~1953 Reorganization Plan No.
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, 4-5. Current Federal Food Safety Responsibilities Historically, Congress passed laws in reaction to immediate food safety problems.
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In total, thirteen agencies in the federal government have food safety responsibilities.~5 FDA has three centers conducting and supporting food safety activities: Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) , Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM)
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Critics also claim that too many agencies are responsible for food safety activities. Foods posing similar health risks may be inspected by different agencies at different frequencies.
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Recommendations for Changes in the Federal Organization of Food Safety Responsibilities This report contains 21 separate sets of recommendations Mat have had a significant impact on He debate over whether the federal organization that ensures safe food needs to be changed. This debate has recurred over 48 years with long periods when little interest was expressed in changing Me organization for federal food safeW.
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Two would have given all responsibility to USDA, and 10 would have FDA reorganize and regulate the safety of all foods including meat and poultry. One would have He Consumer Product Safety Commission carry out all food safety functions.
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The Conference also recommended Hat the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare ~W) issue an order establishing a separate interdepartmental coordinating committee on federal food regulatory policy with He aim of implementing national nutritional and health goals.
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Although He report did not specifically recommend consolidation, it criticized He overlapping inspection activities of USDA, FDA, and over federal agencies and the lack of consistency in their requirements, procedures, and concepts. GAO recommended that He Director, Bureau of He Budget, make a detailed evaluation of the federal food inspection system to see how to improve its administration and determine if it was feasible to consolidate some of He inspection efforts.
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Summary of Recommendations The report of He Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare stated that the purpose of S 3419, the Consumer Safety Act of 1972, was to establish an independent agency to regulate foods, drugs, and consumer products.
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92-749; Senate Committee on Government Operations, Subcommittee on Executive Reorganization and Government Research, S.3419, The Consumer Safety Act of 1972, 92nd Cong., 2nd sees., S.Rept. 92-2; Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, Food, Drug, and Consumer Product Safety Act of 1972, 92nd Cong., 2nd sees., S.Rept.
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Summary of Recommendations The report found that food inspection "remains embarrassed by departmental conflicts of interest and overlapping jurisdictions in USDA and FDA." In its conclusions, the report recommended that meat inspection and chemical monitoring by USDA and FDA should be transferred to a new food safety agency where He goal of protecting public health would be consolidated. It also suggested that food inspection be included in He responsibilities of the independent "consumer safety agency" under consideration at the time in Congress.
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He stated that GAO "believes the existing federal food safety structure needs to be replaced with a uniform, risk-based inspection system under a single food safety agency. While some administrative actions can be taken to improve He system, the fundamental changes Hat are needed will require legislative action."29 Dissenting Views DHHS officials responded to this GAO report by stating that there was no reason to believe Hat creating a new single agency would improve basic food safety.
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2350. Summary of Recommendations The act, if it had passed, would have transferred responsibility for enforcing meat, poultry, and egg inspections from FSIS of USDA to an independent federal health agency called He Meat, Poultry and Eggs Inspection Agency.
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So far, there have been no hearings. Summary of Recommendations This act, if passed, would consolidate all federal food safety, labeling, and inspection programs into a new independent agency known as He Food Safety Administration (FSA)
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Rowe, Jr. Summary of Recommendations The commission recommended that all regulatory functions relating to food products be transferred to the Department of Agriculture and that those relating to other products be placed under a reorganized Drug Bureau administered by a public health agency.
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function be continued as part of a reorganized public heals service within He Federal Security Agency or its successor. Popular Name and Date Acts Restructuring Meat and Poultry Products Inspection: Wholesome Meat Act of 1967 and the Poultry Products Act of 1968.34 Description and Mission of Group Making Recommendations The Wholesome Meat Act of 196735 substantially revised He 1906 Meat Act.
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A number of representatives of the packing and processing industries joined others from some state agriculture departments opposing the new federal inspection programs. However, over time, the states dropped out of the meat inspection business because of its high cost.
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Summary of Recommendations The rationale for making FDA a part of He newly created CPEHS was stated in the message Tom He Secretary to die President: The fact that similar or interacting contaminants manifest themselves in more than one type of environmental exposure argues strongly for focusing in a single agency the responsibility for identifying the hazards to health, developing and promulgating criteria and standards, and mounting programs that will promote compliance therewith.... Retention of a separate FDA relates to its history as a regulatory agency with an operational pattern historically different from that of the Public Health Service (PHS)
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39House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, Subcommittee on Commerce and Finance, Hearings on the Consumer Product Safety Act, 92nd Cong., list and 2nd sees., part 3, Nov.
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Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, "V. Regulatory Organization" in Study on Federal Regulation, 95th Cong., 2d sees., December 1977, S.Rept.
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Dissenting Views USDA Secretary Bergland countered Secretary Califano's suggestion win He idea Hat FDA food inspection authority be transferred to the new FSQS. Secretary Bergland stated, "The President's Reorganization Task Force is reviewing the desirability of combining FDA food activities, and USDA food safety and quality activities operations." In November 1977, HEW proposed that USDA's meat and poultry inspection activities and He women-infants-children program be consolidated within HEW.
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Dissenting Views Several food safety activists objected to moving all food safety responsibility to USDA, because USDA is not linked to He Public Heal Service as is FDA. They argued Hat communication could be improved on food safety standards if all food safety agencies were affiliated win public heals agencies such as He Centers for Disease Control and He National Institutes of Heals.
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Summary of Recommendations The Committee recommended that FDA be removed from the Public Heal Service (PHS) and that the FDA Commissioner report directly to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
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Summary of Recommendations The Review recommended Hat all federal food safety responsibilities be placed under the FDA. Dissenting Views A working group of government food safety officials advising He VicePresident's staff in preparing He NPR had recommended Hat an independent agency be created Hat would administer a science-based food safety system that would apply He same standards to all foods, thereby representing a more effective method of preventing food-borne illnesses.
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Foley said that, if USDA regulated all foods, the FDA would be free to concentrate on He safety of drugs.46 Popular Name and Date Carol Tucker Foreman, Safe Food Coalition, October 6, 1993.47 Description and Mission of Group Making Recommendations These recommendations, in He fond of a press release issued by He Safe Food Coalition, reflect support for reorganizing food safety functions from the American Public Health Association, Center for Science in He Public Interest; Consumer Federation of America; Consumers Union; Food and Allied Service Trades AFLCIO; Government Accountability Project; National Consumers League; Public Citizen; Public Voice for Food and Health Policy; United Food and Commodity Workers International Union.
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plan and records. Every meat arid poultry plant must implement, by He year 2000, a HACCP plan Hat identifies where hazards occur and what steps are needed to control those hazards.50 48Marian Burros, "Clinton Plan Would Move Meat and Poultry Inspections to FDA" New York Times, 13 September 1993, Ala.
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From page 152... ...
consumers; whether the existing system has a comprehensive federal food safety mission and objective Hat protects He public's heals; and whether Vice President Gore's National Performance Review recommendation to consolidate all federal food safety programs within FDA is warranted. Principally, most of the recommendations discussed the need to revise the food safety system to monitor for microbiological pathogens in the food supply and to prevent food-borne illnesses.
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The purpose of this bill would have been to centralize responsibility for He management of all federal food safety activities into one existing agency to lessen He cost on He federal budget. Dissenting Views Not Available 52s.
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Recommended that all regulatory functions relating to food products to protect the consumer be transferred to USDA and that those relating to other products be placed under a reorganized Drug Bureau administered by the public health agency. 1968 Department of Health, Education, Placed FDA under the Public Health and Welfare Reorganization Directive Service and in July 1968 made FDA a part of March.
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From page 155... ...
Did not specifically recommend consolidation, but criticized the overlapping inspection activities among USDA, FDA, and other federal agencies. Instead, it recommended that the Director, Bureau of the Budget, make a detailed evaluation of the federal food inspection system to see how to improve its administration and determine if it was feasible to consolidate some of the inspections.
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The independent agency would have had responsibility to set product safety standards for all consumer products representing unreasonable risk of injury or death.
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Recommended that Congress hold oversight hearings to evaluate options for Food Safety and Quality: Uniform, Risk- revamping the federal food safety arid based Inspection system Needed to Ensure quality system, including creating a single Safe Food Supply. GAO/RCED-92-152, food safety agency responsible for admin June 1992.
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From page 158... ...
1993. Carol Tucker Foreman and the Safe Food Coalition, "Safe Food Coalition Endorses Gore Proposal to Consolidate Food Safety Functions," Press Release and Letter to Members of the House, 6 October 1993 in which they strongly supported the National Performance Review recommendation to move the food safety function of inspection of meat and poultry to the FDA.
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From page 159... ...
Would have transferred responsibility for enforcing meat, poultry, and egg inspec tions from FSIS of USDA to an independ ent federal health agency entitled the Meat, Poultry and Eggs Inspection Agency. Would consolidate all federal food safety, labeling, and inspection programs into a Richard Durbin introduced identical bills.
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