Commentary
Beyond the government shutdown: Why protecting customers from contamination is up to you
While the FDA does play a critical role in protecting our country's food supply, the truth is that even with a government shutdown, the vast majority of food and facilities were still being checked and inspected. This is because the food safety infrastructure in the U.S. is complex and robust.
January 23, 2019
By Javier Martinez, Food Safety manager, Fresh Concepts
When news broke that the government shutdown would prevent the Food and Drug Administration from performing some of its food safety inspections, it caused quite a stir among consumers and restaurant operators alike. Our offices were inundated with phone calls from operators concerned that the food they were serving might be a safety risk because it "missed" FDA inspections. While the FDA does play a critical role in protecting our country's food supply, the truth is that even with a government shutdown, the vast majority of food and facilities were still being checked and inspected. This is because the food safety infrastructure in the U.S. is complex and robust.
The FDA inspections affected by the shutdown are a fraction of inspections that happen every day in the US. For starters, the shutdown only stopped scheduled inspections that occurred at food processing facilities once every three years. If a facility wasn't one that was on the schedule for inspection, it would not miss anything during a shutdown. Second, FDA inspections of several foreign suppliers were also not affected. And third, the FDA is not the only government agency charged with food safety inspections. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is responsible for inspections of meat, eggs, cheese and bottled water, and it was not impacted by the shutdown.
Also, most of the food inspections that happen in the U.S aren't because of the government. They happen in the private sector by several different groups. They are conducted by food suppliers and second- and third-party companies.
Let's take the produce industry. Food safety is always a priority in the produce industry, and the FDA is not the only source for validation as the inspections are periodic. Produce suppliers and distributors have agreed on several industry standards to promote food safety. Those include the Global Food Safety Initiative and the Leafy Greens Marketing Association practices. These protocols, which have been adopted by the majority of the reputable suppliers and distributors, are the first line of defense in food safety and are not affected by a government shutdown.
But those suppliers don't just rely on self-inspections and practices. They also work together with other companies to verify compliance with the law and with adopted safety practices. As a produce management company that works to ensure safe and affordable food supplies for our customers, we often conduct our own on-site audits of distributors to ensure food safety. In addition to our inspections, we also require third-party inspections and certifications. These are conducted by certification bodies, such as NSF Food Safety Certification and SCS Global Services, which have schemes that are recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative. These inspections happen far more frequently than any done by the FDA.
There is one last part of the food safety infrastructure that happens every day and is not impacted by government shutdowns. The actions taken at the operator level — in the walk-in refrigerator, in the kitchen, at washing stations — make up the critical "last mile" in the food safety chain. Following proper techniques for washing and prepping food at the restaurant level can help to ensure the highest levels of food safety. For example, we find that restaurants often overestimate the power of sanitizers to help reduce microbial load. Those sanitizers are used primarily for food-contact surfaces. They are not as effective on rough product surfaces and internal tissues.
All of this is not to say that an interruption in FDA inspections is not important. It is. Any halt in inspections is not desirable. But it is important to understand the complex, sophisticated, and robust food safety infrastructure in the United States to better understand where the risks are and where they are not.
Cover photo: iStock
