Who is Protecting our Food?

In the United States, several agencies and organizations are responsible for protecting, inspecting and ensuring that our food is safe to eat. At the national level, the USDA and FDA work in tandem to keep our food safe. The USDA oversees animal products such as meat and poultry, while the FDA focuses on produce and packaged goods.

Food safety is constantly being improved through legislation. Congress passed the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in 2011, which helped streamline and improve the process of identifying the source of food contamination. It also created systems to help prevent contamination at earlier steps in the food supply chain. Legislation like FSMA is important because it helps update the rules for food safety and make sure companies are keeping the public safe from foodborne illnesses.

States also play a vital role in enforcing the rules. States work with the federal government through programs to enforce food safety, especially at local businesses like restaurants and grocery stores. States have health inspectors that can be sent to businesses that are suspected of having food safety violations. Despite this complex system of checks for food safety, around 48 million Americans still get sick from food-related illnesses each year.

On top of this, the Trump Administration has made significant cuts to the CDC and FDA. Losing these staff members is problematic for our food safety system. The USDA and FDA have also been conducting more enforcement actions, including more product recalls and more inspections. This is positive, but the cuts in staff members could undermine the increased efforts.

State and federal governments have good food safety laws and agencies, but there are still gaps in coverage. Low-income households often live in food deserts, areas that lack fresh food and often have food that isn't as safe or has higher contamination levels. Improving food safety for these communities requires increased outreach, education, and access to fresh food in areas that have high levels of food insecurity.