FDA identifies focus areas for requested funding
An increase of $25.3m of new budget authority was proposed by President Barack Obama in the FY 2017 budget request.
FDA said it will look at the National Integrated Food Safety System and use the requested funding ($11.3m) to support state capacity for the produce safety rule by delivering education and technical assistance to farmers and providing on‑going compliance support and oversight.
The agency will also focus on New Import Safety Systems ($14m requested) with the priority on implementing the FSVP rule, which makes importers responsible that foods they bring in from other countries are produced in a manner consistent with US food safety standards.
The proposed fiscal 2017 budget requested a 15% hike over last year’s total coming to $1.6bn in funds to support FDA and Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) implementation of FSMA.
The majority of the increase – $1.5bn – would go to FDA, with the remaining $52m to CDC.
An additional $8.5m would go to the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS).
Consumer Federation of America (CFA) expressed disappointment with the budget request as it proposed almost no new funding for food safety activities.
Thomas Gremillion, director of Food Policy at the Consumer Federation of America, said FDA needs adequate funding to take on its new oversight responsibilities under FSMA.
“The President’s budget will mean more delay in implementing the law, which Americans will pay for in the form of avoidable hospitalizations and deaths caused by foodborne illness," he said.
“FDA will need to give a lot of technical assistance to growers, importers and other regulated parties as it finally begins to apply new rules under FSMA this year.
“The agency needs to fund state and local partnerships to do this work. It needs to train and hire new inspectors. This budget falls far short of meeting those needs."
