CSPI Recommendations for a Modern Food Safety System

The Centers for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) released a white paper last week reviewing proposed food safety bills under review by Congress, which are a result of this year's increase in recalls and the safety issues with imports from China.

CSPI recommended the following elements to modernize food safety programs in the United States:

• Process controls systems, such as the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system, should be mandatory for all food processors regulated by the FDA. HACCP is already required for meat, poultry, seafood, and juice processors.


• Government agencies should establish and enforce meaningful public-health based performance standards, including limits on the incidence or levels of contamination.


• Inspections of high-risk products should be frequent and intensive, and there should be a minimum inspection frequency for other foods, as currently required for drugs and medical device manufacturers. (FDA currently inspects the average food-manufacturing facility only once a decade, whereas USDA inspects every single beef or chicken carcass.)


• Imported food should be produced under safety systems at least as strong as those in the U.S., and the FDA should begin certification of food safety programs and facilities in foreign countries.


• Research and education mandates should be broad and well-funded enough to help solve a wide range of food safety problems.


• On-farm programs should begin with written food safety plans for every farmer.


• Enforcement should include mandatory recall authority, greater civil and criminal penalties, product traceback and detention, and whistleblower protection.

For more information, visit the Centers for Science in the Public Interest at http://www.cspinet.org/.