In testimony submitted to Congress on the Bush Administration’s FY 2002 Budget, the National Food Processors Association (NFPA) strongly supported “adequate funding” for effective food safety programs by the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
“NFPA supports the Administration’s requested level of funding for FDA’s food regulation activities, but recommends that priority be given to the areas of research, risk assessment, education and surveillance,” said John Cady, NFPA’s President and CEO. “Such priority setting will ensure that the Agency’s limited resources will be targeted toward reducing risk associated with foodborne illness.” Cady also noted that NFPA supports adequate resources for FSIS, but added that further reforms are needed at the Agency to ensure that “unnecessary layers of regulation are promptly removed.”
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On April 10, NFPA provided formal testimony on the Administration’s FY 2002 Budget proposal to the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies of the House Committee on Appropriations, which oversees the budget for both FDA and FSIS.
Cady pointed out that “The Administration’s FY 2002 Budget proposes new user fees — more appropriately described as ‘regulatory taxes’ — that require food companies to pay for the privilege of being regulated. Though NFPA applauds the Administration for not proposing new user fees for FSIS, the FY 2002 request does include $13.4 million in new, unauthorized user fees. This includes $8.1 million for import inspections and $5.3 million for export certifications, both of which are unauthorized under current statute.”
Cady stated “NFPA appreciates that the Committee repeatedly has rejected user fee proposals in past Administration budget requests, and recommends again that funding for food safety and regulatory programs should be borne through appropriated funds.”
While several federal agencies have responsibility for food safety and quality programs, “FDA and FSIS share the primary responsibility for food regulation,” Cady said. “NFPA, on behalf of our members, is focusing on increasing the resources and productivity of these authorities. This year, NFPA has launched a long-term effort, along with other leading food trade associations, to seek additional funding for FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) which, in real dollars, has had a steadily declining budget since 1973.”
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By GlobalData- NFPA “strongly supports” the proposed FY 2002 increase of $1 million to strengthen CFSAN’s scientific capabilities in regard to biotechnology, and requests the Committee provide an even higher level of funding for this important function. “In January, FDA released a draft guidance on labeling of foods derived from biotechnology and a proposed rule on premarket notification,” NFPA said in its testimony. “NFPA supports the increased funds to assist in the expeditious publication of a final version of the guidance and rule to ensure the review process for biotechnology is thorough, rigorous and scientifically based.”
- NFPA endorses the new Administration’s commitment to preventing the spread of Mad Cow Disease and Foot and Mouth Disease to the United States.
- NFPA urges the Committee to review FSIS’s personnel management practices “to ensure the availability of inspection personnel either through additional resources or management reforms, including alternative inspection procedures.” NFPA also urges the Committee “to ensure that unnecessary layers of regulation are promptly removed at FSIS to speed HACCP implementation.”
- NFPA recognizes the lead role that FSIS plays in overseeing the work of the U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius, and strongly supports the FY 2002 requested increase for FSIS Codex activity. “NFPA recommends that the Committee provide an even higher level of funding for this function, as Codex remains a critically important forum for ensuring U.S. leadership in international trade and food safety activities,” NFPA noted in its testimony.”
- * NFPA supports infrastructure request for funding to administer the transfer of CFSAN staff and facilities to College Park, Maryland and to construct a new regional laboratory in Los Angeles, California.
“NFPA is grateful for the important funding oversight that the Committee provides to ensure the integrity of U.S. food safety regulation,” Cady concluded. “The food industry endeavors to produce the safest and highest quality food products in the world. As a result, adequate funding for our nation’s food safety regulators, through direct appropriations and enhanced productivity by the Agencies, is fundamental to good public health and to maintaining the confidence of consumers in the safety of the food supply.”
NFPA is the voice of the $460 billion food processing industry on scientific and public policy issues involving food safety, nutrition, technical and regulatory matters and consumer affairs. For more information on this issue, contact Timothy Willard, NFPA’s Vice President of Communications, at 202-637-8060, or visit NFPA’s Website at http://www.nfpa-food.org.
