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Pesticide Monitoring: FDA's Automated Import Information System Is Incomplete

RCED-92-42 Published: Dec 31, 1991. Publicly Released: Jan 30, 1992.
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Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the status of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) efforts to implement the Import Support and Information System (ISIS) to automate its import monitoring operations.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of Health and Human Services should ensure that FDA develops, in coordination with Customs, detailed plans and milestones for implementing an electronic interface between ISIS and ACS nationwide.
Closed – Implemented
FDA, in conjunction with Customs, has developed implementation plans and milestones for only one region of the nation. This is insufficient to ensure effective and timely implementation of the ISIS-ACS interface in all FDA districts nationwide and therefore jeopardizes FDA's efforts to improve its import monitoring operations. GAO is currently reviewing the program.
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of Health and Human Services should ensure that FDA develops detailed plans and milestones for implementing ISIS screening and profiling modules.
Closed – Implemented
FDA has established a basic screening module and has developed a basis for creating a profiling module, but the agency has not developed the detailed plans and milestones required for nationwide implementation of these modules. At this point, FDA plans no further development of these modules until an unknown future date. Failure to implement these modules would greatly detract from the usefulness and effectiveness of ISIS. GAO is currently reviewing the program's progress.
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of Health and Human Services should ensure that FDA informs Congress of its established target dates for implementing the interface and the screening and profiling modules and periodically updates Congress on its progress, including any deviations from those dates.
Closed – Not Implemented
Last year, Congress transferred the responsibility and funds for developing the interface plans to the U.S. Customs Service. As a result, the recommendation to HHS is no longer applicable.

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Topics

Contaminated foodsFarm produceFood inspectionImport regulationInformation systemsInteragency relationsPesticide regulationSystems compatibilitySystems designData entryIT acquisitions