FDA Food Inspections Fail Audit
Fifty-six percent of the food facilities subject to FDA inspection were never inspected over a five-year period studied by federal auditors.
The audit also found that the percentage of food facilities inspected annually by FDA dropped from 29 percent in Fiscal 2004 to 24 percent in Fiscal 2008. In the same period, FDA inspectors issued fewer and fewer notices of potential safety violations and didn't always follow up on the problems it did find.
Those are the top findings in an audit report released this week by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG).
The number of facilities that received FDA notices of potential food safety violations dropped from 614 in 2004 to 283 in 2008, even as the number of facilities grew, the OIG found.
Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, a key supporter of pending food safety legislation, had this to say about the report:
“This new report shows what we have feared for too long: that that our domestic food facilities are not being adequately inspected and FDA needs additional authorities to keep the food on our tables safe.''
For its part, the FDA said it has already addressed or is addressing many of the concerns raised in the report and needs greater authority and more inspectors to improve food safety.
But the 38-page audit report raises questions about the agency's efficiency.
- FDA notices of potential food safety violations are called "official action indicated," or OAI. In 2004 the agency issued OAI notices to 614 of the 17,032 facilities inspected (3.6%). By 2008 the number was down to 283 of 14,966 facilities inspected (1.9%). Almost 75% of those facilities had a history of violations.
- Like inspections of food facilities overall, inspections of facilities classified as high-risk declined over the 5 years, from 77% in 2004 to 63% in 2008.. In 2008 there were 8,667 facilities designated as high-risk.
