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Survey: Political Pressures Hurt Food Safety

By Dan Flynn and Suzanna Schreck

One in four scientists and inspectors at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration surveyed by the Union of Concerned Scientists say they have personally experienced "instances where public health has been harmed by business withholding food safety information from agency investigators."

The survey, conducted by the Iowa State University Center for Survey Statistics, released by UCS yesterday indicates that large numbers of public health officials believe industry pressure has weakened food safety regulation.

"Hundreds of scientists and inspectors responsible for food safety have personally experienced political interference in their work, and that's bad for public health," said Francesca Grifo, director of UCS's Scientific Integrity Program. "Both the administration and Congress need to act."

The survey found that 38 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that "public health has been harmed by agency practices that defer to business interests." Twenty-five percent said they had personally experienced corporate interests forcing the withdrawal or modification of policies or other actions "designed to protect consumers."

More than 1,700 FDA and USDA officials took part in the survey. According to UCS, most of the respondents had worked at their respective agencies for more than 10 years.  

Full post as published by Food Safety News on September 14, 2010 (boomark / email).