Food safety labs may not have capacity to handle a crisis like Japan's

By Aaron Mehta and Laurel Adams

IG criticizes agencies charged with protecting American food safety as unprepared and understaffed

Excerpts from this story referencing "FSIS":

"… e testing responsibilities as needed,” the inspector general said. “If FSIS discovers during an emergency that laboratories lack their listed testing …"

"… ens, Ga.; St. Paul, Minn.; Denver, Colo.; and, Alameda, Calif., found that FSIS has only one employee each assigned to the Athens and St. Paul facilities. …"

"… stem. She also pointed to a long history of communication problems between FSIS and the FDA. “It’s been like pulling teeth to get them to talk to each …"

"… supply against terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies. FSIS and FDA have yet reached agreement on how the network would operate.Fundin …"