DeLauro Urges FDA to Improve Food-Recall Procedures

WASHINGTON, DC (December 27, 2017) — Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) today released the following statement in response to a new Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report, which found that the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) food-recall process did not consistently ensure the safety of our nation's food supply.

"The latest OIG report confirms what we have known for years: the FDA's response to food recalls is both slow and inadequate. Recalls of potentially harmful food must meet the highest standards, as the health of all Americans is on the line. Yet too often months go by before retailers take contaminated food off the market—all the while more and more people fall ill."

"The FDA should immediately implement the OIG's recommendations, as well as reverse its policy of withholding the names and locations of retailers and distributors where recalled food is sold. The primary mission of the FDA is to ensure the food our families eat is safe, not to protect the trade secrets of food corporations. While I believe that the FDA already has the authority to release this information, I am committed to introducing legislation if Commissioner Gottlieb's review finds otherwise."

DeLauro is a senior member on the Appropriations subcommittee responsible for funding the FDA.

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