Vulnerabilities in FDA’S Oversight of State Food Facility Inspections

Vulnerabilities in FDA’S Oversight of State Food Facility Inspections, an Office of Inspector General (OIG) report released December 2011, identifies significant weaknesses in FDA's oversight of state food inspections on which FDA increasingly relies. In eight States, FDA failed to ensure that the required number of inspections was completed, and FDA paid for many inspections that were incomplete.

In addition, FDA did not ensure that all inspections were properly classified or that all inspection violations were remedied. FDA failed to complete the required number of audits in one-third of the States with inspection contracts (14 of 41 states). Additionally, the audits in 10 States revealed systemic problems that needed to be corrected; however, FDA initiated corrective action in only 4 of these 10 States.

Neal Fortin is the author of Food Regulation: Law, Science, Policy, and Practice, and he is Professor and Director of the Michigan State University Institute for Food Laws and Regulations, where he teaches online courses in Food Regulation in the United States, International Food Law, and Codex Alimentarius.