U.S. Food Safety Policy and the U.S. Food Safety System

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U.S. Food Safety Policyand the U.S. Food Safety
System

• Craig Harris
• Comparative Food Safety Systems Workshop
• 18 March 2005

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Food Safety Policy System

• Parallel to agrifood system

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policy
regulation
research
surveillance
enforcement
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Food Safety Policy System

• Parallel to agrifood system
• Involves several levels

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Food Safety Policy System

• Federal level
• USDHHS/PHS/FDA
• USDHHS/PHS/CDCP
• USDA/FSIS
• USDA/APHIS
• USDHS

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U. S. National Academies of Science Press 1998
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Food Safety Policy System

• Federal level
• USDHHS/PHS/FDA
• USDHHS/PHS/CDCP
• USDA/FSIS
• USDA/APHIS
• USDHS
• How many food safety agencies should a
  nation-state have?

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Food Safety Policy System

• Federal level
• USDHHS/PHS/FDA
• USDHHS/PHS/CDCP
• USDA/FSIS
• USDA/APHIS
• USDHS
• Publish the Food Code

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Food Safety Policy System

• Federal level
• USDHHS/PHS/FDA
• USDHHS/PHS/CDCP
• USDA/FSIS
• Publish the Food Code
• Guided by Conference for Food Protection

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Conference for Food Protection

• non-profit organization, originated in 1971, by
  USDHHS/FDA and APHA
• partnership among regulators, industry, academia,
  professional organizations and consumers
• identify problems, formulate recommendations, and
  develop and implement practices that ensure food
  safety
• meet at least biennially to provide a forum for
  working together to enhance the quality of the
  food supply

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Food Safety Policy System

• Federal level
• Publish the Food Code
• Guided by Conference for Food Protection
• Regulate food safety for meat and eggs
  (USDA/FSIS) and fish (DHHS/PHS/FDA) in interstate
  commerce

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Food Safety Policy System

• Federal level
• Publish the Food Code
• Guided by Conference for Food Protection
• Regulate food safety for meat and eggs
  (USDA/FSIS) and fish (DHHS/PHS/FDA) in interstate
  commerce
• but . . . food safety is not one of the
  constitutionally granted powers of the federal
  government

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Food Safety Policy System

• Federal level
• Publish the Food Code
• Guided by Conference for Food Protection
• Regulate food safety for meat and eggs
  (USDA/FSIS) and fish (DHHS/PHS/FDA) in interstate
  commerce
• Deal directly with Association of Food and Drug
  Officials

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Association of Food and Drug Officials

• The Vision AFDO is an international leader and
  trusted resource for building consensus and
  promoting uniformity on public health and
  consumer protection issues related to the
  regulation of foods . . .
• The Mission - AFDO, established in 1896,
  successfully fosters uniformity in the adoption
  and enforcement of food . . . safety laws, rules,
  and regulations.
• AFDO and its six Regional Affiliates provide the
  mechanism and the forum where regional, national,
  and international issues are delibera-ted and
  resolved uniformly to provide the best public
  health and consumer protection in the most
  expeditious and cost effective manner.

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Food Safety Policy System

• Federal level
• Publish the Food Code
• Guided by Conference for Food Protection
• Regulate food safety for meat and eggs
  (USDA/FSIS) and fish and anything else
  (DHHS/PHS/FDA) in interstate commerce
• Deal directly with Association of Food and Drug
  Officials
• Regulate food safety for food processing in
  states, tribal lands, and territories

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Food Safety Policy System

• Federal level
• Regulate food safety for meat and eggs
  (USDA/FSIS) and fish and anything else
  (DHHS/PHS/FDA) in interstate commerce
• Deal directly with Association of Food and Drug
  Officials
• Regulate food safety for food processing in
  states, tribal lands, and territories
• Delegate responsibility for food safety in food
  service institutions to local level

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Food Safety Policy System

• Federal level
• State, tribal and territorial level
• Local level
• What is the relationship between the causal
  structure of foodborne illness, and the
  regulatory structure of food safety policy?

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policy
regulation
research
surveillance
enforcement
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Food Safety Policy System

• Federal level
• State, tribal and territorial level
• Local level
• What is the relationship between the causal
  structure of foodborne illness, and the
  regulatory structure of food safety policy?
• What is the relationship between national policy
  and local enforcement?

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Food Safety Policy System

• Parallel to agrifood system
• Involves several levels
• Increasing international trade in all kinds of
  foods implicates international agencies in food
  safety policy

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Food Safety Policy System

• Parallel to agrifood system
• Involves several levels
• Increasing international trade in all kinds of
  foods implicates international agencies in food
  safety policy
• World Health Organization

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Food Safety Policy System

• Parallel to agrifood system
• Involves several levels
• Increasing international trade in all kinds of
  foods implicates international agencies in food
  safety policy
• World Health Organization
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
  Nations

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Food Safety Policy System

• Parallel to agrifood system
• Involves several levels
• Increasing international trade in all kinds of
  foods implicates international agencies in food
  safety policy
• World Health Organization
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
  Nations
• Codex Alimentarius Commission

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Food Safety Policy System

• Parallel to agrifood system
• Involves several levels
• Increasing international trade in all kinds of
  foods implicates international agencies in food
  safety policy
• World Health Organization
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
  Nations
• Codex Alimentarius Commission
• World Trade Organization

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Food Safety Policy System

• Parallel to agrifood system
• Involves several levels
• Increasing international trade in all kinds of
  foods implicates international agencies in food
  safety policy
• World Health Organization
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
  Nations
• Codex Alimentarius Commission
• World Trade Organization
• Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards Agrmt

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WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary
Measures

• Science based
• Least trade restricting
• Non-discriminatory
• Equivalence
• International harmonization
• Risk assessment
• Transparency

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Food Safety Policy System

• Parallel to agrifood system
• Involves several levels
• Increasing international trade in all kinds of
  foods implicates international agencies in food
  safety policy
• With 50 of U.S. food imported, what is relevance
  of national food safety policy structure?

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Food Safety Policy System

• Parallel to agrifood system
• Involves several levels
• Increasing international trade in all kinds of
  foods implicates international agencies in food
  safety policy
• Increasing private sector action

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Food Safety Policy System

• Parallel to agrifood system
• Involves several levels
• Increasing international trade in all kinds of
  foods implicates international agencies in food
  safety policy
• Increasing private sector action
• Setting food safety standards

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Food Safety Policy System

• Parallel to agrifood system
• Involves several levels
• Increasing international trade in all kinds of
  foods implicates international agencies in food
  safety policy
• Increasing private sector action
• Setting food safety standards
• Third party certification

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Food Safety Policy System

• Parallel to agrifood system
• Involves several levels
• Increasing international trade in all kinds of
  foods implicates international agencies in food
  safety policy
• Increasing private sector action
• To what extent does the food safety system
  operate to produce food safety? For whom?

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Food Safety Policy System

• Parallel to agrifood system
• Involves several levels
• Increasing international trade in all kinds of
  foods implicates international agencies in food
  safety policy
• Increasing private sector action
• To what extent does the food safety system
  operate to produce food safety? For whom?
• How does the food safety system operate to
  produce food safety?