White House Plan Would Combine Food Safety Efforts under the USDA

The White House budget director Mick Mulvaney, on June 21 introduced a reorganization plan. The plan proposes creating a single food safety agency under the Agriculture Department, decreasing the Food and Drug Administration’s role in regulating the food industry. Mulvaney said “Because of the Byzantine nature of the way we regulate in this country…if you make a cheese pizza, that is governed by the Food and Drug Administration, if you put pepperoni it, that’s governed by USDA. If you have a chicken, it’s governed by the USDA. If that chicken lays an egg, it’s governed by the FDA, but if you break the egg and make it into an omelet, that is now covered again by USDA.”Under the plan, food safety regulations would shift from FDA to USDA and FSIS, instead of having duties split between the FDA and the USDA. It’s an idea that the Obama administration proposed in 2015. It will create a new branch called the Federal Food Safety Agency. @ https://harvestpublicmedia.org/post/white-house-plan-would-move-food-aid-out-usda-combine-food-safety-efforts