Image of the Day

chided the FDA for inadequate oversight and even failing to meet its own
inspection goals. According to the report, “FDA”s sampling program is
limited in scope, is not effectively implemented, and does not fully use the
capabilities of FDA’s laboratories.”
For example, in 2009, the FDA tested only 0.1 percent of seafood
imports for drug residues. When they do test, they only test for 16 drugs,
whereas Canada tests for 40, some European countries test for 50, and
Japan tests for 57. In recent years, the U.S. lagged behind other nations in
starting to test for drugs. The EU began testing for chloramphenicol and
nitrofuran in 2001, but the U.S. did not do so until 2002 and 2004,
respectively. In 2003, the EU began testing for malachite green, but the
U.S. waited until 2005 to do so.
Once the FDA rejects a shipment of seafood, “they don't destroy the
product,” explains Engle. “So it can go out on the ship and come in on
another port. And because there is such a small percentage being tested,
then when they go to another port like that, it's equally unlikely to be
caught. So that's what happens. They call it port swapping.” She
concludes, “FDA is just simply not catching things, and the system is not
set up to catch it.”
The U.S. catfish industry was so fed up with the FDA’s lack of
oversight that it lobbied to have catfish inspected by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture instead. The USDA requires equivalency, says Engle,
meaning that imported catfish (including pangasius) are held to the same
standards as domestically raised catfish. “Why should we have different
standards for our US growers and... an imported product?” Engle asks.
But even though catfish oversight was transferred to the USDA in the
2008 farm bill, the change was never implemented. Engle calls it a
"political battle” between states with many seafood importers and those
with a domestic catfish industry. Vietnam joined in the fight too,
threatening to boycott U.S. beef. “Why would they be worried about it
unless they realized they couldn't meet the US safety standards right
now?" Engle points out. “The battle was not about safety for US
consumers or even safety for Vietnamese consumers. It's really a shame.”
Read More