In response to a report from the Government Accountability Office, the FDA says the biggest stumbling block to conducting inspections of food facilities is understaffing. The Food and Drug Administration hasn’t met targets for inspections of domestic and foreign food facilities since 2018, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The FDA is responsible for 80 percent of the U.
S. food supply, including domestic and imported food. The FDA conducted thousands of routine surveillance food safety inspections of domestic and foreign food facilities from fiscal year 2018 through fiscal year 2023.
According to GAO’s analysis of FDA data, FDA conducted an average of 8,353 domestic inspections per year and an average of 917 foreign inspections per year. “FDA’s inspections are a proactive tool aimed at preventing food safety problems rather than reacting to outbreaks after they happen,” according to the GAO report. The Food Safety Modernization Act directs the FDA to inspect each high-risk domestic food facility at least once every three years and non–high-risk facilities every five years.
“GAO’s analysis of FDA data shows that FDA nearly met its mandated targets for both high-risk and non-high-risk domestic facilities in fiscal years 2018 and 2019, but faced significant challenges in meeting mandated targets beginning in fiscal year 2020—largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the report said. “For example, according to FDA data, FDA did not inspect.