Safety of food supply in question according to industry experts | 04.18.2007 | 07:27:24 | Views: 6746 | ID: April 18 '07: Food safety experts recently told the Associated Press that more than 97 percent of all food imported into the United States is not checked and inspected. Of the 1.3 percent of all fish, vegetables, fruit and prepared foods that are inspected, health officials say much of the food is unfit for human consumption. Under the Bioterrorism Act of 2002, the AP reported that "anyone importing food into the United States is required to notify the FDA of the shipment before it arrives by land, air or sea. That allows the FDA to intercept contaminated products before they reach the marketplace, through agency officials acknowledge it doesn't always work that way." Part of the reason so little food actually is inspected, officials told the wire news service, is because of two reasons, that there has never been so much food being imported into the country, and that current government regulations do not account for the "leveling" globalized marketplace. To help increase food safety regulations and inspections, "The FDA and USDA have adopted a 'risk-based' inspection philosophy, focusing on specific foods, sources or producers that they believe represent the largest potential risk to the public's health." Recent contaminated food sources in pet foods from gluten imported from China have increased the spotlight on the importance of maintaining a safe food supply, the AP reported. "Groups lobbying to increase the FDA's budget say its spending on food safety has languished, despite the agency's outsized role in ensuring the safety of the nation's food supply."(Click below to download file) food-safety.pdf
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