USDA's Fruit Fly Research
RCED-95-274R: Published: Sep 14, 1995. Publicly Released: Sep 14, 1995.
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Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Agriculture Research Service's (ARS) expenditures on fruit fly research activities in Hawaii. GAO noted that: (1) ARS changed the focus of the medfly research when it failed to suppress the medfly's native population and shifted its research to the native population's resistance to sterile-male mating and ancillary suppression techniques; (2) ARS spent about $8.5 million on the medfly project from 1989 to 1994; (3) ARS spent about $1.75 million on the broad systems project before cancelling the male fly annihilation part of the project; (4) ARS spent almost $1 million on renovations to laboratories that were subsequently closed; (5) ARS decided to stop using helicopters for the project when it stopped its sterile fly releases and diverted the funds to researching ancillary suppression technologies; (6) ARS spent $858,000 to improve its Wailua facility to support the sterile fly releases planned under the medfly project, but it is now doing other field research and raising a new strain of sterile medfly at the facility; (7) ARS acquired four vehicles for field research and to replace transferred and disposed of vehicles; (8) although ARS decided not to use the fly-rearing facility located near the Honolulu International Airport, ARS is liable for predesign costs and possible rent expenses; and (9) ARS considered several options for relocating its facilities before deciding that consolidation of some of the labs in Hilo was the best alternative.
Jan 15, 2021
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Additional Information Needed to Better Protect Workers from Pesticide ExposureGAO-21-63: Published: Jan 15, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 15, 2021.
Nov 20, 2020
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Food Safety:
CDC Could Further Strengthen Its Efforts to Identify and Respond to Foodborne IllnessesGAO-21-23: Published: Oct 21, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 20, 2020.
Nov 16, 2020
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Farm Programs:
USDA Has Improved Its Completion of Eligibility Compliance Reviews, but Additional Oversight Is NeededGAO-21-95: Published: Oct 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 16, 2020.
Sep 16, 2020
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Agriculture Spending:
Opportunities Exist for USDA to Identify Successes and Challenges of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program to Inform Future EffortsGAO-20-711R: Published: Sep 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 16, 2020.
Sep 14, 2020
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USDA Market Facilitation Program:
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Aug 10, 2020
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National Bio and Agro-defense Facility:
DHS and USDA Are Working to Transfer Ownership and Prepare for Operations, but Critical Steps RemainGAO-20-331: Published: Jul 10, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 10, 2020.
May 7, 2020
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Food Safety:
FDA and USDA Could Strengthen Existing Efforts to Prepare for Oversight of Cell-Cultured MeatGAO-20-325: Published: Apr 7, 2020. Publicly Released: May 7, 2020.
Apr 13, 2020
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Priority Open Recommendations:
U.S. Department of AgricultureGAO-20-288PR: Published: Apr 6, 2020. Publicly Released: Apr 13, 2020.
Dec 23, 2019
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Nutrition Assistance Programs:
Agencies Could Do More to Help Address the Nutritional Needs of Older AdultsGAO-20-18: Published: Nov 21, 2019. Publicly Released: Dec 23, 2019.
Dec 6, 2019
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Imported Seafood Safety:
Actions Needed to Improve FDA Oversight of Import Alert Removal DecisionsGAO-20-62: Published: Nov 6, 2019. Publicly Released: Dec 6, 2019.
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