Though federal agencies responded relatively quickly to the recent outbreak of E.Coli in bagged spinach, the case highlights the need to ensure the safety of the nation's food supply and to have adequate tracking systems in place to do so.

Fortunately, food safety inspectors are close to discovering the exact source of the contaminated spinach. In the meantime, though, at least 171 people have become ill from the outbreak, one person has died, and 27 cases of kidney failure have been reported.

Recall Problems Might Still Arise

While federal agencies have worked diligently to locate the source of the contamination, FDA has yet to recall any of the bagged spinach products believed to be the source of the contamination. According to a 2004 GAO report, FDA and USDA often face problems getting contaminated food products off the shelves:

"USDA and FDA do not know how promptly and completely the recalling companies and their distributors and other customers are carrying out recalls, and neither agency is using its data systems to effectively track and manage its recall programs. For these and other reasons, most recalled food is not recovered and therefore may be consumed."

GAO found that agencies that oversee other consumer products, such as toys or automobiles, have mechanisms for recalling faulty products that are unavailable to USDA and FDA in dealing with food supply problems. "For example, by law, companies must promptly notify the Consumer Product Safety Commission after learning that a product may pose an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death, or face penalties of up to $1.65 million," according to the report. Companies making food face no penalties for delaying or failing to disclose contamination.

A Fragmented Food Safety System

Federal agencies investigating the matter believe that animal manure may have contaminated the spinach, causing the outbreak of E.Coli. Twenty-five states have reported outbreaks. Both the cause and the rapid spread of the bacteria bring to light dangerous loopholes in the current food safety system.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) share responsibility (along with several other federal agencies) for food inspection and safety. As GAO reports and congressional hearings have pointed out, this arrangement often allows food inspection to fall through the cracks. As GAO pointed out in a letter to Jo Ann Davis (R-VA) following a hearing on food safety, "for consumers as well as for GAO, it is at times difficult to determine which agency is responsible for ensuring the safety of a particular food product. For example, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) might be responsible for inspecting a particular food item, but once that item is used in a processed food product, it might be regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Arbitrary jurisdictional lines of authority can make the current food safety inspection system difficult to assess and, more importantly, unresponsive to the needs of the public."

Congress has attempted to streamline food safety inspection by placing responsibility for it in a single federal agency. The Safe Food Act (S. 729/H.R. 1517), introduced in April 2005 by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) in their respective chambers, would create the Food Safety Administration to oversee all food safety issues.

Food Labeling Bill Would Eliminate Food Safety Protections

While S.729 has yet to make headway, another food safety bill the Uniformity in Food Labeling Act of 2006 (H.R. 4167) has been making its way through Congress. It was approved by the House in March, and the Senate held a hearing on its companion bill (S. 3128) in July. Despite its innocuous name, the bill would actually preempt and weaken food safety laws in individual states without creating any new protections.