States could soon be responsible for routine federal food safety inspections if budget proposals being considered by the Trump administration move forward.
Joe Reardon with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture is a former Senior Advisor for Federal-State Relations with the Food and Drug Administration. He told Brownfield, “Work to integrate the food safety systems has been ongoing for two decades.”
“This is an opportunity to really get rid of some of the redundancy,” he says. “You’ve heard of a state inspector being in a facility on Monday and a federal inspector being in there on Wednesday. There’s no need to do that. It puts a huge burden on the industry. It’s not very effective.” Reardon says the shift would require more federal dollars at the state level to be effective.
“FDA, we anticipate will maintain its ability to do those specialized inspections,” he explains. “Infant formula, maybe low acid canned foods, and some of the seafood HASP-type inspections, and then continue to play a very critical role on imported foods coming in.”
Reardon says more than 40 states are currently in compliance with the FDA’s manufactured food regulatory program standards, which establish a uniform foundation for food safety measures.
The National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments has confirmed that FDA employees who were temporarily suspended from the Proficiency Testing Laboratory as part of downsizing efforts have been reinstated.
The FDA says the temporary suspension of the program does not impact routine testing of milk. The lab is not used to directly test milk or other dairy products. Reardon says the lab performs essential quality control testing to ensure laboratories nationwide conduct satisfactory food safety analysis.
EDITOR’S TAKE:
Cooperative agreements between state and federal agencies regarding food safety inspections have been in place for decades. When yours truly was the Director of Agriculture for the State of Michigan, I carried an FDA license and was trained to conduct and oversee such inspections – and that was a long time ago. We also had contracts with USDA for meat inspection. The challenge over time is with maintaining funding levels from both parties. If one of them falls behind in their commitment, the program becomes difficult to operate. Often times the state legislature may be facing a budget crisis or Congress, at the federal level, may not increase funding for several years while operating costs increase over time. Either way, it takes a strong commitment to make this type of collaboration work. When it operates properly it benefits all parties!
Speaking of benefiting all parties, did you know that as a CAD member you benefit from programs that non-CAD dealers aren’t able to offer. For instance, AgPack® offers a huge opportunity for you to maintain margins and conquest more deals. It also benefits farmers/ranchers with over $45,000 in exclusive rebates and discounts on products they use in their operation. That equals an immediate return on their truck purchase or lease. Plus, the AgPack® partners gain exposure to new ag customers who help them expand their market. That, my friend, is a deal that benefits everyone!
