●

- Addressed

◐

- Partially Addressed

○

- Not Addressed

◉

- Consolidated or Other

℗

- Pending

⊘

- Closed-Partially Addressed

⊗

- Closed-Not Addressed

Year Identified: 2019

Area Number: 1

Area Type: Fragmentation, Overlap & Duplication

Action:

The Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop a mechanism to coordinate the development of methods to detect contaminants in food, including arsenic in rice.

Progress:

FDA agreed with this recommendation and in January 2020, proposed to use the annual Food Safety Research Meeting as the coordination mechanism that GAO recommended in March 2018. The February 2020 meeting included a session in which FDA and USDA officials met to discuss methods for detection of contaminants in food, among other topics. Using this annual meeting as the coordination mechanism could help FDA use its resources efficiently and avoid engaging in unnecessary and potentially duplicative efforts.

Action:

The Secretary of Agriculture should work with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop a mechanism to coordinate the development of methods to detect contaminants in food, including arsenic in rice.

Progress:

USDA agreed with this recommendation and in January 2020, proposed to use the annual Food Safety Research Meeting as the coordination mechanism that GAO recommended in March 2018. The February 2020 meeting included a session in which USDA and FDA officials met to discuss methods for detection of contaminants in food, among other topics. Using this annual meeting as the coordination mechanism could help USDA use its resources efficiently and avoid engaging in unnecessary and potentially duplicative efforts.