Food safety concerns grow as imports to US surge

Yet the FDA is able to inspect only 0.7 percent of all imported food products, down from 1.1 percent the previous year. In 2006, that means the FDA inspected just 20,662 shipments out of more than 8.9 million that arrived in US ports – employing about 1,750 food inspectors for ports and domestic food-production plants.

"We have all known for years that the FDA doesn't have enough money or inspectors to do what they need to because of congressional budget cutting," says Jenny Scott of the Food Products Association. "We are going to have to free up more resources for them, and we are going to have to be smarter in how we use them."

Others say that increasing the FDA's budget – even doubling the number of inspections – would still not come close to protecting American consumers. They suggest that importing companies adopt their own standards of inspection, as was done by produce-growing associations in California, which have declared voluntary guidelines for handling food from field to dinner table.

But some in the US say that government regulation and even voluntary guidelines would be burdensome overkill – and wouldn't solve the problems.

"No amount of regulation would have found the melamine," says Duane Ekedahl, president of the Pet Food Institute. Instead, he says, the Chinese government should step up to help certify its food products – or otherwise be stung by consuming nations that shift their trade to more careful trading partners.

"The US system is not broken; that's an oversimplification," says Mr. Ekedahl. "We shouldn't have to inspect it here. [Foreign governments] should inspect it all there."

Food industry observers often say that the latest concerns need to be kept in perspective. Infractions are relatively minor compared with the amount of foodstuffs being moved globally, they say.

"The total number of food-borne illnesses has not increased, and that is an important message not to be lost on consumers," says Dr. David W.K. Acheson, newly-appointed director of the FDA's food safety and security staff. He says that his appointment in January – with a mandate to develop new strategies and tactics for the 21st century – is an indication that the FDA knows major changes are needed.

But some believe that absent new FDA funding, Dr. Acheson's appointment will amount to a shifting around of existing departments and resources without the wherewithal to make substantive change.

"This shouldn't be about someone with a new title and shuttling paper around," says De Lauro. "We need a whole new understanding of the nature of the problems and possible new solutions. The system is fragmented, has no teeth, and is not set up to properly stop problems before they happen."

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