The FDA needs to better communicate with state and local officials to improve food safety efforts, according to testimony heard by a House of Representatives subcommittee.
Steven Mandernach, executive director of the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO), on Wednesday delivered the testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing “Healthier America: Legislative Proposals on the Regulation and Oversight of Food.”
Before joining AFDO in 2018, Mandermach spent more than15 years in state government, most recently as Bureau Chief for Food and Consumer Safety at the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, where he oversaw the regulation of tens of thousands of food manufacturers and retail establishments. He has a law degree from Drake University Law School and has completed graduate coursework in food safety at Michigan State University.
AFDO is a nonprofit association of food safety professionals across state, local, federal, tribal, territorial, academic, and industry sectors. Its members are the state and local regulatory agencies responsible for most day-to-day food safety oversight in the United States, including inspections, laboratory testing, outbreak response, and recall verification. The association was founded in 1896 — predating the country’s major food laws — when it advocated for a strong federal food safety system, including the founding of what became the Food and Drug Administration.
Mandernach told the subcommittee that the U.S. food safety system works because it is a shared effort between the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and state and local agencies. However, red tape keeps the federal body from sharing key information with state and local entities, hampering safety efforts.
“States and FDA do not operate in parallel silos; they function as a connected system, relying on mutual trust, clear roles, and timely coordination,” Mandernach said. “When that partnership works well, the food safety system can respond quickly and effectively to emerging risks. When it does not, the consequences are felt by consumers, regulators and industry alike.”
The system also places unnecessary burdens on businesses, which are forced to respond to multiple, duplicative requests from different agencies.
Mandernach provided the subcommittee with bullet points to illustrate the breakdown of responsibilities between the federal government and state and local agencies:
- 100 percent of retail inspections at restaurants, grocery stores and convenience stores are conducted by state and local inspectors;
- 100 percent of Grade A milk and shellfish inspections are conducted by states;
- More than 93 percent of produce safety inspections are conducted by states;
- Nearly 90 percent of the food processing inspections in the United States are conducted by state agencies;
- State laboratories conduct more than 600,000 analytical tests of food and food-related samples each year;
- More than half of all foodborne illness outbreaks in this country are associated with retail food establishments, schools, and other institutions, and 100 percent of these food service providers and events are inspected by state and local governments; and
- States also conduct nearly all inspections of food manufacturers nationwide. That’s typically 400 percent more domestic manufactured food inspections a year than the FDA