Rutgers report on food imports

Doug Powell of the Food Safety Network noted this Rutgers report today: The US Food Import System: Issues, Processes and Proposals; The 44 page pdf offers an examination of current rules and proposed changes to the food import system. From the report's conclusion:

As a result of the well-publicized recalls of both domestic and imported foods, issues of food safety have risen on the public agenda. Increased scrutiny by members of the press, Congress, and consumer groups have revealed a regulatory and inspection system that appears to many to be an underfunded, piecemeal approach to ensuring the safety of the American food supply. Detractors point to an apparently increasing number of food recalls in recent years, the decline in inspections of foods produced both domestically and abroad, and the lack of resources devoted to keeping up with explosive growth of food imports as evidence of a food safety system that is badly in need of reform.
In contrast, supporters of the current system argue that the number of recalls and the amount of food recalled because of contamination is miniscule relative to the total volume of food produced, imported, and consumed in the United States. This, they suggest, is evidence that the current system works well, and that an increasing number of recalls is largely due to a system that has improved through the use of better science, technology, and information sharing. Indeed, they argue that the United States has “the safest food system in the world.” Opponents to the proposed changes, especially from the global forum, see these changes as protectionist tariffs and strategies masked behind the concern of safe food.
While both sides argue over the state of the current system, it is clear that the demands of a globalizing economy and the increasing expectations of consumers worldwide will continue to place new and increasing pressures on both producers and governments to better ensure the safety of foods coming into and leaving the United States. Indeed, a recent survey suggests that American’s overwhelming (“very confident”) confidence in the food supply has dropped considerably (International Food Information Council, 2007).
As with much of the history of food safety laws, regulations, and procedures promulgated in the United States and abroad, change is likely to arise as the result of consumer demands for “the government to do something.” As such, ultimately it is the pressure of consumer confidence (or lack of confidence) in the safety of the food that is likely to drive any reforms in the current system. The question is whether such reforms will be as the result of a rational reconsideration and reorganization of the entire food safety system, or as the consequence of a more incremental approach to improving the existing system.

TK: How much consumers are plugged into the issue of fresh produce safety may be one big factor in how ambitious Congress is in tinkering with the U.S. food safety system. Sadly, consumer confidence and interest in this issue may hinge on whether there are any recalls of leafy greens or other produce items in the next few months. In both respects, we must stay tuned...