Monday, December 11, 2006
E.coli and you
With the latest outbreak of the virulent strain of this common bacteria, there is a growing hue and cry for food safety regulation for produce nowadays. It has reached the point that even the produve industry is asking for increased regulation, if only to protect their image. And once again the culprit is lack of funding for existing inspection.
Part of the problem, critics say, is that the F.D.A.’s food safety budget has been repeatedly slashed even as the agency’s responsibilities are multiplying.Which is kind of like saying the problem with the Hindenburg was that it was on fire.
Overall, the F.D.A.’s food safety budget has been declining for decades, with money being shifted into the agency’s oversight of drug and medical devices, said William K. Hubbard, a former F.D.A. associate commissioner. He said the portion of the budget devoted to food safety has fallen to about 25 percent from 50 percent in the early 1970s.With the Democrats in charge of Congress it should be easy to pass an increased budget authorization but it remains to be seen if the produce industry gives enough to the Republicans to get the White House to implement anything of value.
Operating funds for the F.D.A.’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, the division at the heart of its food safety operations, have decreased to an estimated $25 million next year from $48 million in 2003, and the number of full-time positions has fallen to 817 from 950, according to F.D.A. records.
Food inspectors are a separate part of the F.D.A. budget that was not immediately available; however, the number of inspectors has declined to 1,962 from about 2,200 in 2003, F.D.A. documents show.
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