Food Safety: Improvements Needed in FDA Oversight of Fresh Produce

摘要

In recent years, both domestic and imported produce have been linked to reported outbreaks of foodborne illness. Contamination in produce is of particular concern because produce is often consumed raw. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has primary responsibility for ensuring the safety of both domestic and imported fresh produce. GAO was asked to examine (1) the resources FDA has spent on fresh produce safety and how it has allocated those resources, (2) the effectiveness of FDA's actions to oversee fresh produce safety, and (3) the extent to which FDA's planned actions to enhance fresh produce oversight address identified challenges. For this review, GAO analyzed FDA spending data and estimates and FDA activities data, reviewed FDA plans, and interviewed FDA officials and others. While FDA has considered fresh produce safety a priority for many years, resource constraints and other work--including counterterrorism efforts and unplanned events such as foodborne illness outbreaks--have caused FDA to delay key produce safety activities. FDA has no formal program devoted exclusively to fresh produce and has not consistently and reliably tracked its fresh produce spending.