Poor records hinder food supply regulators

Poor records hinder food supply regulators    Most food suppliers cannot produce sufficient records pointing back to product origin, a report released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General on Thursday concluded.
   The report further highlighted that the industry's lack of adequate food supply chain records hinders the Food and Drug Administration's response to cases of food-borne illness.
   'FDA's ability to fulfill its duties largely depends upon whether it can follow a food product's movement through each stage of the food supply chain, a process referred to as traceability,' said Inspector General Daniel Levinson to the House Appropriation Committee's agriculture subcommittee, on the day of the report's release.
   The food supply chain generally starts on the farm and involves many intermediate steps, such as processors, packers, distributors, transporters and retailers, before it reaches the consumer, Levinson explained. The FDA is responsible for ensuring the safety of about 80 percent of the country's food supply, including $417 billion in domestic food and $49 billion in imported food.
   During several recent high-profile food borne illnesses, including spinach, tomatoes, peppers and peanut butter, the FDA struggled to pinpoint the origin of the contaminated products.
   In a test of the industry's recordkeeping, the IG purchased 40 food products and found that only five of the products could be traced through each stage of the food supply chain.
   'In these cases, every facility that handled these products was able to link the product we purchased to lot-specific information in their records,' Levinson said. 'In a food emergency, if FDA is able to trace the product through each stage of the food supply chain, then it can more easily pinpoint the source of a contamination and target the products that need to be removed from retail shelves.'
   For 31 of the 40 products, the IG was unable to trace their movement through each stage of the food supply chain. Instead, the agency was only able to identify facilities that 'likely' handled the products. For the remaining four products, the IG could not even identify the facilities that likely handled them, Levinson said.
   The IG found that most available records were maintained on paper. 'Additionally, some facilities did not have integrated recordkeeping systems that linked sources and recipients to specific shipments of products, and managers had to search multiple recordkeeping systems for required information,' Levinson said.
   Based on its findings, the IG made six recommendations to the FDA to help improve its ability to trace food products back to their origin:
   ' Seek statutory authority, if necessary, to strengthen the existing records requirements regarding lot-specific information.
   ' Consider seeking additional statutory authority to require food facilities to further strengthen the traceability of food products.
   ' Work with the food industry to develop guidance on traceability.
   ' Address issues related to mixing raw food products from a large number of farms.
   ' Seek statutory authority to request facilities' records at any time, as opposed to its current authority to request records only when the FDA has a 'reasonable belief' that a food item presents a serious health threat.
   ' Conduct education and outreach programs to inform all segments of the food industry about its records requirements.
   The IG's report may be found online.