DeLauro Comments on New GAO Food Safety Report

Concerned WithEnsuring Safety of Food Imports

NEWHAVEN, CT—Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) released the following statementtoday in response to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report onways to ensure the safety of food imported into the United States. DeLauro, a senior member of the committee responsible for funding the Food andDrug Administration (FDA), has long fought to ensure imported food products aresafe, including pressing the Administration to take steps to improve the safetyof seafood products from Southeast Asian nations as it negotiates a potentialTrans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement.

"Iam glad that the GAO has reviewed these issues that are critical to ensuringthe safety of imported foods. With 80 percent of the seafood and morethan half of the produce consumed here imported from abroad, it is imperativethat we ensure the safety of all food – regardless of where it isproduced. This report is a good step toward ensuring the safety of ourimported food and clearly shows that we have much to do. Given the recentreports pointing out concerns with the integrity of third party audits, we mustensure strong implementation of the food safety modernization law for allimported food products. I look forward to working with my colleagues andthe Administration on this implementation and to make certain that the FDA hasthe funding it needs to protect the public from unsafe food."

Thereport may be foundhere.