The House Appropriations Committee has approved funding for FY 2023 USDA and FDA programs. An amount of $27.2 billion has been allocated to the two departments intended to  improve food safety among other objectives.

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will receive $1.2 billion to control diseases affecting plants and animals and to improve surveillance and diagnostic procedures.  The USDA Agricultural Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture will receive $3.6 billion to continue ongoing operations and to enhance aspects of flock and herd health and food safety. 

The Food and Drug Administration received supplementary funding to enhance data collection and modernize inspection of food plants. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Chair of the Appropriations Committee, believes that the funding will reduce the probability of foodborne illness.

Simply throwing money at both USDA and FDA will not have any beneficial effect until structural changes are made and attitudes at both the FDA and APHIS are realigned.  The recent debacle over contaminated infant formula and the obvious dereliction of duty by FDA cannot be resolved simply by increasing the level of funding funding.

Congress should carefully monitor performance of both the FDA and APHIS in their individual and collective attempts to improve food safety.  Failure to achieve objectives should stimulate reconsideration of a “nuclear option” creating a totally dedicated food safety agency combining the current jurisdictions and resources of the FDA and USDA.