Food Safety: An Interview With Joseph A. Levitt : Part 3

by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

(Page 3 of 4)

Q: Imported foods, everything from Swiss chocolate to fresh produce from South America, continue to flow into the United States at ever-increasing rates. How does the FDA ensure that such foods are wholesome and of the same quality as domestically produced products?

A: Our goal in regulating imported foods is clear. We need to ensure that the consumer has the same level of protection and the same level of confidence in the food they eat, wherever its origin. A consumer shouldn't have to try to figure out which sources of food are safer than others. That's the government's job.

First, we need to realize that imported foods present a unique and special challenge to us. Over the last decade, there has been an enormous surge in the volume of food that is imported into the United States. You can now go to the grocery store, any month of the year, and have a variety of products to choose from. For example, you have fruits and vegetables year-round that you never had before. Consumers want this choice. And it's a good choice. Many of these foods are the types we encourage people to eat as part of a healthy diet. However, when more and more food is coming from all around the world, not only does the sheer volume of the food present a challenge, but it also introduces more potential sources of contamination. As the volume of imports increases, the percentage of imported foods we are able to inspect decreases. Currently, the FDA is actually only able to sample and test less than 1 percent of imported products. As I have already mentioned, that means we have to target our efforts on those products that present the highest risk to consumers. The FDA has developed a computerized system over the last several years so that we are now able to quickly review import entries and identify products and/or countries where we've had trouble in the past. As I mentioned before, we've analyzed 1,000 samples of imported fruits and vegetables to see where the problems are, and so we're targeting our resources where the greatest known risk is.

Second, we recognize that we can't expect to catch everything at the border, so we are increasing our overseas presence. We are now conducting more on-site foreign inspections, again, focusing on those products that are at highest risk for contamination. We also are increasing our foreign food safety outreach and training programs. Our food safety experts have traveled literally around the world to teach growers and processors what is needed to meet our country's high food safety standards. So far we've been to Central America, South America, the southern Pacific, and most recently to South Africa. We will also be going to the Far East.

There has been enormous interest in these international outreach activities. The good news is that companies that want to export to the United States know we have high standards and they want to meet those standards, and we're doing our best to get the information to them on how to do that.

In summary, yes, there are a lot more imports. And yes, the growing volume of imports is a concern to us. That is why we are shoring up border surveillance and increasing our overseas presence.

Q: An estimated 6 million to 7 million Americans have food allergies. And about 150 people die each year in the United States from severe allergic reactions to food. What is the FDA doing to increase the awareness of food allergens among consumers and food processors?

A: This is a very important issue. I think we have to start by clearly stating the problem. There are a significant number of Americans who have food allergies. About 90 percent of these food allergies are attributed to eight types of food: milk, eggs, fish, wheat, tree nuts, peanuts, soybeans and crustaceans (such as shrimp and crab).

A couple of years ago, we started to see an increase in product recalls due to the presence of food allergens in the product that were not included on the label. The rule is: If it's in there, it's supposed to be on the label so that allergic consumers can avoid them. We worked with the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin to survey food manufacturers. What that survey found really caught our attention. Twenty-five percent of the samples tested positive for peanut allergens, even though peanuts were not supposed to be there and were not declared on the product label. And 10 percent of the samples tested positive for eggs, although eggs were not declared in the label. That is a big problem.

A consumer with a food allergy is dependent on the food label. So those labels have to be reliable. As a result, we've taken a lot of steps to ensure that they are. And, just as important, the food industry has done a number of things, too, and they are to be commended for that. I think that everyone who looks at this problem says: This is something we need to fix. And the good news is that we can.

We have issued a document called a Compliance Policy Guide. It articulates very simple rules on food allergens for industry. If you have an ingredient that may cause a food allergy in your product, you have to label it. And, if you don't label it, it should not be in there. By issuing this policy statement, we're telling the industry very clearly that we're going to be out there inspecting establishments to make sure that these rules are followed. We've also issued clear instructions to our field inspectors on what to look for from an allergen standpoint at food processing plants. The industry has followed suit and has developed their own code of practices for preventing cross-contamination with food allergens.

In conjunction with patient advocacy groups, the food industry has developed guidelines to simplify allergen labeling in the food ingredient statement. The idea behind this effort is to speak to consumers in "plain English." If it is a milk-derived ingredient, for example, the ingredient statement will very clearly say "milk" ingredient rather than something like "casein" or "whey." This tells a consumer allergic to milk not to eat it. Clearer labeling is a significant step up for consumers.

As soon as this issue emerged, everyone — whether on the industry side, the consumer side or the government side — agreed that food allergens are a real problem and that the problem needs to be addressed today. There really has been a lot of positive response and that's good for consumers with food allergies.

About the Author

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FDA is A United States government body that oversees medical devices, including contact lenses, intraocular lenses, excimer lasers and eyedrops. In the US, these products must be approved by the FDA before they can be marketed.