You are familiar now with the current U.S. food safety system. It is a patchwork of 15 federal agencies that
administer more than 30 major laws regulating food safety. Problems in agency coordination and in
complicated regulatory jurisdiction of very similar food products are common. Authority over very similar food
products is also a problem, and some efforts are overlapping and duplicative.
Funding for the programs is a serious problem. For example, appropriations for FDA and for the Center for
Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) in the past 20 years resulted in a shortness of workforce (it
increases its number, but still not enough to cover all the area). Increased funding was not enough to keep up
with inflation.
ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS BELOW:

1. Should the system be reexamined and reviewed to be put under an integrated structure that will better
   coordinate the protection of the public?
2. Should the food safety system be restructured?
3. In formulating suggestions, make sure that they are reasonable and can be implemented.