Food Safety System Audit Coming From HHS, USDA – Sen. Harkin’s Office

Federal agencies' oversight of the inspection of imported food products and how effectively national food safety standards are implemented will be evaluated in an audit requested by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin,D-Iowa.

Harkin's office said May 22 the Office of Inspector General at both the Health and Human Services and the Agriculture departments will conduct the audit. Preliminary results should be available by the end of this year, the senator's staff said.

Agriculture Committee Communications Director Kate Cyrul told "The Tan Sheet" the HHS and USDA inspectors general "have agreed to do an update of food safety audits by the end of this year and they intend to have a larger report due out at the beginning of next year, a complete report."

Harkin said he asked the agencies to comprehensively evaluate the food and feed supply safety and oversight system in response to recent reports of widespread food contamination, including the finding of pet food made with melamine-contaminated wheat gluten imported from China and a link between those products and the human food supply.

A comprehensive assessment of food safety will help policymakers and industry stakeholders determine how to "better protect the U.S. food supply," Harkin said in an April 25 release announcing his audit request.

"This evaluation is needed now more than ever to determine how to remedy breakdowns in the system," the senator added.

Food safety is of concern in the dietary supplement industry as many products include food ingredients. Like firms in other industries, supplement manufacturers are affected by an April 27 FDA order for vegetable protein products from China to be detained without physical examination due to the presence of melamine and melamine analogs in pet food ingredients labeled as wheat gluten and rice protein (¹ (Also see "Costs Mount For Firms As Amino Acids, Vegetable Proteins Sit On Docks" - Pink Sheet, 14 May, 2007.), p. 8).

Harkin asked investigators to determine how soon FDA or USDA checked the human food supply for melamine contamination after the substance was detected in pet food. He also asked whether FDA's response was adequate to protect the human food supply, and whether coordination between the two agencies cases is adequate.

Harkin's concerns include whether other countries impose equivalent inspection standards for exported food products, and whether import volumes exceed U.S. agencies' capacity for inspections.

In the request he specifically asks inspectors to evaluate how much oversight the federal agencies have on imported food products and how they implement national food safety standards.

Harkin also wants investigators to determine the adequacy of the agencies' response to recent cases of food adulteration and evaluate whether they have enough resources and authority to enforce safety standards throughout the food production chain.

"Taken together, all of the recent recalls of human and pet food raise serious questions about protocols in place now at FDA that are supposed to prevent and respond to contamination of our nation's food and feed supply," Harkin said in his letter to HHS and USDA.

The HHS and USDA audit marks the latest step in federal efforts to address food safety concerns. In a May 4 letter to food manufacturers, FDA reminded producers of their responsibilities to protect the safety of ingredients in their products and unveiled a new program to monitor certain protein ingredients (² (Also see "FDA Discusses Industry’s Food Safety Burden, Plans To Knock On Doors" - Pink Sheet, 14 May, 2007.), p. 6).

Bills have been introduced in Congress this year to expand FDA's power to order a mandatory recall of adulterated food products and give it the authority to mandate a recall of any product regulated by the agency (³ (Also see "Flurry Of Food Safety Bills Hit Senate, House In Wake Of Pet Food Recall" - Pink Sheet, 7 May, 2007.), p. 6).

At a May 1 House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on FDA's effectiveness, former agency Commissioner Frank Young said the pet food contamination cases reflect the importance of inspecting imported food products.

"Of particular importance is the effective regulation of imported products, as we exist in an ever growing global economy," Dr. Young told the committee. The country "needs a uniform safety standard for imported and domestic products. Sufficient resources are required for both FDA inspectors and FDA regional labs that support them," he added.

- Robert W. Mitchell ([email protected])