Food Safety: Agencies Need to Address Gaps in Enforcement and Collaboration to Enhance Safety of Imported Food

Transcription

1 Food Safety: Agencies Need to Address Gaps in Enforcement and Collaboration to Enhance Safety of Imported Food Lisa Shames, Director U.S. Government Accountability Office Presentation to the Global Food Safety Policy Forum October 14, 2009 Washington, D.C. 1

2 Overview of GAO Food Imports Report Background Objectives of GAO engagement Methodology Findings GAO Recommendations 2

3 Background The U.S. imports food from more than 150 countries and territories Imported food comprises 15 percent of the U.S. food supply 60 percent of fresh fruits and vegetables 80 percent of seafood Imported foods have been associated with outbreaks of foodborne illness Salmonella from Honduran cantaloupes (2008) Salmonella from Mexican peppers (2008) 3

4 Background: Three Federal Agencies CBP is the first agency to review imports at the border. It requires importers to post a monetary bond. FDA requires prior notice of incoming shipments, and importers must be registered with FDA. FSIS uses an equivalency system to oversee imports of meat, poultry, and processed egg products. Each agency has its own computerized screening system and set of procedures to review imports. 4

5 Engagement Objectives (1)How are CBP, FDA, and FSIS addressing challenges in overseeing the safety of imported food? (2) How does FDA leverage resources in overseeing imported food safety by working with other entities, such as states and foreign governments? (3) How is FDA using its Predictive Risk-Based Evaluation for Dynamic Import Compliance Targeting (PREDICT) system to oversee imported food safety? (4) How does the EU screen and monitor food imports at ports of entry? 5

6 Methodology (1) Visited five U.S. ports: Baltimore, MD; Buffalo, NY; Laredo, TX; Los Angeles/Long Beach, CA; Miami, FL (2) Interviewed officials from FDA, FSIS, CBP; nine states having high volume ports; and stakeholders. (3) Reviewed formal assessments of PREDICT and spoke with FDA officials and contractors developing the system. (4) Met with EU officials in Brussels and at the ports of Antwerp, Belgium and Rotterdam, The Netherlands. 6

7 Findings: Addressing Challenges CBP, FDA, and FSIS have taken steps to address challenges in ensuring the safety of imported food, but gaps in enforcement remain: CBP s computer system does not share key information with FDA s and FSIS s import screening systems FDA has limited authority to ensure importer compliance CBP and FDA do not provide unique identification numbers to importing firms CBP faces challenges in managing in-bond shipments However, CBP and FDA officials at certain ports employ joint initiatives to better coordinate actions 7

8 Findings: Leveraging Resources FDA has formal and informal mechanisms to work with states on imported food safety 1 contract (Michigan) several cooperative agreements various informal partnerships FDA does not always share certain information during a food recall FDA is expanding its efforts to coordinate with other countries in a number of ways Beyond Our Borders program Regular meetings with high level officials from other countries 8

9 Findings: Using PREDICT PREDICT is FDA s computer system to estimate the risk of food, drugs, and medical devices using criteria such as the violative histories of the product, importer, and country of origin. These risk estimates are to help target high risk shipments for examination and let low risk shipments enter U.S. commerce without further review. A 2007 pilot test found that PREDICT helped to identify products more likely to violate FDA regulations and identified product violations that posed more severe public health risks. 9

10 Oversight of Imported Food in the EU All products of animal origin (e.g., meat, dairy products, seafood, honey) must enter the country at certain ports, where veterinarians are present. The EU has implemented a new computer system called TRACES that automatically updates information about live animals and products of animal origin entering the EU. TRACES system is linked to the EU s Rapid Alert System. If food shipments are rejected at the port, the shipment cannot leave government custody until the receiving country s counterpart agency agrees in writing to accept the rejected shipment. 10

11 GAO s Recommendations to FDA Seek authority from the Congress to assess civil penalties on firms and persons who violate FDA s food safety laws. Explore ways to improve the agency s ability to identify foreign firms with a unique identification number. Study, jointly with CBP, ports where joint initiatives would be feasible. Reach out to states to find opportunities for additional collaboration through both formal and informal mechanisms. Find ways to share product distribution lists with states, to the extent allowed by law. Develop a performance measurement plan for PREDICT. 11

12 GAO s Recommendations to CBP Ensure that CBP s new import screening system, ACE, communicates time-of-arrival information to FDA s and FSIS s screening systems. Ensure that ACE can accept unique identification numbers for foreign firms that import FDA-regulated foods. Study, jointly with FDA, ports where joint initiatives would be feasible. 12

13 Related Food Safety Reports: Food Safety: Agencies Need to Address Gaps in Enforcement and Collaboration to Enhance Safety of Imported. GAO September 15, Seafood Fraud: FDA Program Changes and Better Collaboration among Key Federal Agencies Could Improve Detection and Prevention. GAO February Veterinarian Workforce: Actions Are Needed to Ensure Sufficient Capacity for Protecting Public and Animal Health. GAO February 4, Dietary Supplements: FDA Should Take Further Actions to Improve Oversight and Consumer Understanding. GAO January 29, GAO High Risk Series. Revamping Federal Oversight of Food Safety. GAO January Food Safety: Improvements Needed in FDA Oversight of Fresh Produce. GAO September 26, Food Labeling: FDA Needs to Better Leverage Resources, Improve Oversight, and Effectively Use Available Data to Help Consumers Select Healthy Foods. GAO September 9, Food Safety: Selected Countries Systems Can Offer Insights into Ensuring Import Safety and Responding to Foodborne Illness. GAO June 10,