U.S. Grain Exports: Concerns About Quality

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO investigated U.S. grain export practices, focusing on: (1) the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) system for receiving foreign complaints about the quality of exported grain; (2) the Federal Grain Inspection Service's (FGIS) surveys about the practice of removing grain dust from stored grain for safety reasons, then adding it back to the grain before export; (3) the amount of dockage, or easily removed waste material, in U.S. grain shipments; and (4) FGIS disposition of previous GAO recommendations relating to grain quality.