Food Safety Oversight for the 21st Century: The Creation of a Single, Independent Federal Food Safety Agency

I have been working for the creation of a single, independent federal food safety agency in the United States since my election to the U.S. Senate in 1996, but the debate has raged for much longer. At least twelve federal agencies have authority over food safety currently, leading to confusion, duplication, and an inability to respond quickly to new challenges. Over twenty-five years ago, the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs concluded that overlapping authority and inconsistency hampered the U.S. food regulatory system. The General Accounting Office has called for a single food safety agency in at least sixty reports over the last twenty-five years. In a comprehensive 1998 study, the National Academy of Sciences also concluded that a single official be charged with food safety regulation. It is now time to act. I propose a single food safety agency with an administrator who would oversee all food safety laws, develop safe food standards, coordinate food safety research and education, focus resources on reducing foodborne illness, and coordinate with state and local agencies to ensure the safety of the U.S. food supply.