Single Food Agency Bill Submitted to Congress

Food & Drink Weekly, May 7, 2001

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) has introduced a bill to consolidate food safety responsibilities now scattered among units of the FDA and USDA into a single independent agency. Also affected would be programs of the National Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the Department of Commerce related to seafood inspection. The proposed law would not change food safety responsibilities of the EPA.

The bill, H.R. 1671, was submitted May 1 after DeLauro spoke to a national food policy conference sponsored by the Consumer Federation of America in Washington, D.C. Delauro said she anticipated bipartisan support for the measure, although all 22 cosponsors listed are Democrats. "We're hearing mixed signals from the administration," she said, referring to testimony by Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman before a subcommittee of the House Appropriations committee. DeLauro said the president has publicly questioned why one food safety agency (FDA) has responsibility for ensuring the quality of cheese pizza, while another (USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service) is responsible for the quality of pepperoni pizza.

According to the proposed legislation, responsibility for fish and seafood inspection, currently held by FDA, would be folded into the consolidated food safety agency along with FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine and the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. From USDA, the consolidated agency would incorporate the Food Safety and Inspection Service.

She said Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), also a proponent of a consolidated food safety agency, is planning to introduce his own single-agency bill in the near future.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), attending Delauro's press conference in support of the bill, said he was in favor of a presidential commission to review food safety policy and make recommendations regarding the creation of a single agency. He said the FDA is "grossly underfunded to respond to what its (food safety) responsibilities are." FDA is responsible for inspecting 66,000 establishments, Harkin said, but has a budget of only $260 million to do it with, while USDA has a budget of $712 million with which to inspect 712 establishments. The figures translate to 27 percent of inspection funding going to check on 92 percent of establishments, and 73 percent of the funding going to inspect 8 percent of the establishments, Harkin explained.

"FDA needs to be streamlined" he said. "I favor a single food safety agency and want to have a presidential commission look into it."