Food Safety:
USDA's Data Program Not Supporting Critical Pesticide Decisions
T-IMTEC-92-9: Published: Mar 11, 1992. Publicly Released: Mar 11, 1992.
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GAO discussed the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Pesticide Data Program, focusing on whether: (1) the program is producing the data needed to make improved pesticide regulatory decisions; and (2) USDA has a data management strategy to produce data resulting from the program. GAO noted that: (1) USDA established the program to collect pesticide usage and residue data that can be used to improve government decisions on pesticide safety within USDA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); (2) although USDA has made progress in collecting useful pesticide usage data, it lacks adequate residue collection procedures and reliable data on the quantity and types of pesticides applied on food crops; (3) USDA lacks an agencywide information resources management strategy critical to successfully collecting, processing, and disseminating pesticide data across the federal government; (4) the USDA pesticide usage surveys are proceeding on schedule, and EPA and FDA are generally satisfied with the published data; (5) problems that pose a significant risk to Pesticide Data Program success include a lack of specific written USDA agreements with EPA and FDA on program direction, a lack of a statistically defensible sampling plan capable of producing data equality based on the program's intended objectives, and USDA failure to determine adequate computer resources to process and disseminate the pesticide data; and (6) although GAO has made several recommendations to USDA to help establish a better program foundation, USDA does not agree with the recommendations, and has made little progress in implementing them.
Jan 15, 2021
Farmworkers:
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:
Information on Payments for 2019GAO-20-700R: Published: Aug 21, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 14, 2020.
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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