FDA Struggles to Monitor Imported Food

March 2007

Amid rising reports of food poisoning from both domestic and international products, findings show that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) severely under-inspects the almost $50 billion of food imported every year. FDA inspections only see a paltry 1.3 percent of yearly imports, plummeting from about 8 percent in 1992, when food imports accounted for far less of the national intake.

The problem stems from the lack of food inspectors, as well as lack of sufficient funding. In the past five years, the number of FDA imported-food inspectors has dropped 20 percent despite the climbing amount of imported food. To make matters worse, the FDA is responsible for 80 percent of America’s food supply, but only received one third of last year’s annual funding for food safety.

With America importing 80 percent of its seafood, 45 percent of its fresh fruit, and 17 percent of its fresh vegetables, the FDA is stretched too thin to monitor the 25,000 daily food shipments. Currently, the FDA lacks the ability to regulate or deny foods from poor safety systems in other countries.

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