Casey 1

Ailish Casey
Mr. Campopiano
Government I
21 October 2014
The Importance of Food Inspections
Its a known fact that all living beings, especially humans, require nourishment- food and
water, to live and thrive. Nowadays, the demand for organic food and precious resources like
water are especially high; in fact, they are so high, that not all products meet the standards of
safe food. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), of the 48
million people that get sick each year, 128,000 result in hospitalization and 3,000 ultimately die
due to food-borne illnesses. With the risk of the publics health in mind, the U.S. federal
executive department of Health and Human Services put the Food and Drug Association (FDA)
in charge of protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of
food safety, tobacco products, dietary supplements, and medications (Von Eshcenbach). Through
Congress, the FDA enforces the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The FDA is currently
performing its absolute best in regards to preventing possible food poisoning outbreaks.
However, without sufficient funding, the FDA struggles in putting a stop to preventable deaths in
the U.S.. With proficient funding, the Food and Drug Association can ease the process of foreign
food exchange inspections by creating more jobs, especially with Asian countries, inspect more
food industries, corporations, and better prevent food-borne illness outbreaks.

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It is not only the duty of the FDA to inspect U.S. food products, but also to inspect food products
that are imported from foreign countries. Foreign food facility inspections are designed to
identify potential food safety problems before products arrive in the United States (Regulations).
To ensure quality inspections of foreign goods, the FDA requires more funding. Foreign food
industries are much more difficult to inspect than American industries for many reasons. There
is little or no easy access to check foreign industries for safe products and must be checked
abroad in order to perform a thorough inspection. Therefore, the FDA starts at the source, which
is to send food inspectors to foreign countries that exchange food products with the U.S.. These
trips and inspections of imported foods are more expensive due to travel costs and other aspects
of traveling in foreign countries. Most inspections last a minimum of three days and are
conducted by very experienced and dedicated food inspectors. Yet, its typical that only one
inspector may conduct a food inspection per food industry. This is due to a lack of foreign
inspectors. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, There are approximately 800
FDA investigators trained to conduct foreign inspections in all program areas. Not only is it
expensive to hire more inspectors, but it is also costly to update and buy more equipment for
inspections. Raising more money for the FDA will allow it to hire more inspectors, which will in
turn, create more jobs and ensure the proper training needed to produce highly qualified food
inspectors.

Its simple; as the number of inspected food establishments increase, the number of sick
and hospitalized U.S. citizens will decrease. With more establishments being inspected, the
FDA will require more funds. When an inspector inspects a food establishment that breaks any

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health or safety codes, he or she will issue said establishment a 483 Form. This form is issued by
inspectors who have observed any conditions that, in their judgement, may constitute violations
of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). An example
of a guideline that needs to be taken into account, The floor of every slaughter-booth and
cooling-room shall be constructed of commoner or concrete or other impervious material, and
shall be evenly sloped to one or more gullies immediately outside the slaughter-booth or coolingroom, to allow of the floor being properly flushed and drained (Robertson 64). Receiving a 483
form does not shut down an establishment, however. The FDA will consider the information and
details given by the food inspectors, analyze it, and judge if more drastic steps are needed to be
taken to protect the public health. From October 1, 2012, to September 30, 2013, there were
2,386 483 Forms issued to food establishments (Department of Public Health). This proves
that so many food establishments need to be inspected, and that the number of food
establishments that break health codes cannot be underestimated.

On July 1996, an outbreak of E-coli O157:H7 infection occurred in Sakai City, Osaka,
Japan, where hundreds of people got sick and twelve school children died, (Epidemiol). The
most important aspect of funding more money for the FDA would be to protect the general health
of the public. This incident in Japan that occurred sixteen years ago was not even the worst
E.coli outbreak, let alone worst food-borne illness outbreak, that the world has ever seen. We
cannot risk the lives of people, especially children. Food-borne illnesses can be caused by
various agents like bacteria, viruses, parasites, natural toxins, pathogens and microbes, that,
when ingested, cause diseases like Salmonella (over 2300 types), Escherichia coli (E.coli),

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Listeria, Vibrio, Shigella, and Campylobacter (extension.usu.edu). The number of symptoms can
range from mild to severe, with some severe symptoms ranging from paralysis, blurred vision,
and in some cases, death (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). The FDA is responsible
for trying to prevent consumers from digesting contaminated food products. Whether its
restaurants that serve contaminated food, raw meat that contracts bacteria in the slaughter houses
or fruits and vegetables that contract dangerous agents during their growth or procession, foodborne illnesses can be developed almost anywhere. Its imperative that the FDA gets sufficient
funding which will enable it to conduct more food inspections, more frequently. The health of
Americans cannot be underestimated; outbreaks occur more often than they should, and the
FDA can reduce those numbers if given the chance.

In this economy, what money is spent on really matters. A country already in debt,
should not be spending money on projects that are not necessary. A top priority is and will
always be, the safety and health of the public health. Those who believe that giving money to
the FDA is not wise, do not understand the importance of the FDAs role in our citizens health.
By funding more money to the FDA, we as a society will be bettered by reducing the risk of food
poisoning and its both benign and extremely detrimental affects. Some also believe that the
FDA is functioning perfectly without any surplus of money. This is false. The FDA does the best
it can to protect the public from contaminated food, but it will never be able to reduce the
number of food-borne outbreaks or sicknesses without inspecting more establishments, more
often, and strengthening its foreign inspection procedures. The FDA requires more funding to
better the health standards of the public and save lives.

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With proficient funding, the Food and Drug Association can ease the process of foreign
food exchange inspections by creating more jobs, especially with Asian countries, inspect more
food industries, corporations, and establishments and prevent food-borne illness outbreaks. The
FDA is a well-functioning program that continues to do good in the world of public health.
However, it will never be able to do a proficient job without enough funding. Raising taxes on
sodas to fund the FDA is not only the right thing to do, but a necessity. When it comes to the
health and safety of Americans, all necessary precautions must be taken.

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Citations:
Electronic:
Von Eshcenbach, Andrew. "FDA's Foreign Drug Inspection Program." U.S. Government Printing
Office Home Page. M.D. Commissioner of Food and Drugs, 1 Nov. 2007. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.gpo.gov/>.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Food Inspections. 22 May 2014. Web. 19 Oct.
2014. <http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/outbreaks.html>.

"Food Poisoning." Definition. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. <http://www.mayoclinic.org/

diseases-conditions/food-poisoning

"Food Safety Program: Inspections." Department of Public Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.sfdph.org/dph/eh/food/Inspections.asp>.

Regulations. FSIS. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. <http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_

%26_Policies/index.asp>.

"Massive Outbreak of Escherichia Coli O157:H7 Infection in Schoolchildren in Sakai City,

Japan, Associated with Consumption of White Radish Sprouts. U.S. National Library of
Medicine, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10522649>.

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"Utah State University Extension - Extension.usu.edu." Food-borne Illnesses. Utah State

University Extension, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. <http://extension.usu.edu/>.

Book:
Robertson, William. Meat and Food Inspection. N.p.: Cornell U Library, 2009. Web. 19 Oct.
2014.