Source: FARM DOC DAILY, UNIV. OF ILLINOIS, 7/5/18


In March of 2017, President Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 13781, entitled “Comprehensive Plan for Reorganizing the Executive Branch.”  The EO required each federal agency to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)[1] a proposed reorganization plan to improve efficiency, effectiveness and accountability.  Key issues for consideration in each agency’s plan included, among others, redundancies, costs of programs relative to public benefits, and if some or all functions of the agency would be more appropriately handled by state/local governments or the private sector.

For several years, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recommended merging food safety responsibilities at the federal level into a single agency.[2]  Currently, the federal government oversees food safety via a complex web of more than 30 laws administered by 15 federal agencies, with primary responsibilities assigned to the USDA (safety of meat, poultry, processed egg produces and catfish) and the FDA (responsible for almost all other foods).  Various memorandums of understanding among the agencies attempt to coordinate expertize, minimize coverage gaps and reduce redundancies.  The Health and Medicine Division of the National Academics of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine provided additional non-partisan support for restructuring, recommending enhanced FDA authority over food safety.

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