US relies on states for food safety inspections

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US relies on states for food safety inspections


Feb 10, 10:59 AM (ET)

BY SETH BORENSTEIN and BRETT J. BLACKLEDGE



WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. government has increasingly relied on food-safety inspections performed by states, where budgets for inspections in many cases have remained stagnant and where overburdened officials are trained less than their federal counterparts and perform skimpier reviews, an Associated Press investigation has found.
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State investigators performed more than half the Food and Drug Administration's food inspections in 2007, according to an AP analysis of FDA data. That represents a dramatic rise from a decade ago, when FDA investigators performed three out of four of the federal government's inspections. The Agriculture Department is responsible for meat and dairy safety.
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"To say that food safety in this country is a patchwork system is giving it too much credit," said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chairman of the Agriculture Committee. "Food safety in America has become a hit or miss gamble, and that is truly frightening. It's time to find the gaps in the system and remedy them."
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The number of federal field food inspectors dropped by more than 400 between 2003 and 2007, according to the FDA's budget. But the number of businesses requiring oversight increased by 7,200 between 2003 and 2007, according to the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090210/D968QAQ80.html
 
yeah I suppose that Federal inspection should be required for all food sold out of state.
Not fair to kill the other states poor people and infringe on their rights to kill their own poor.
 
big shock, another federal politician making the case for more federal government power because only the federal gov is responsible enough to do anything about it.
 
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