Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 2/11/19

In 2011, John Dingell, the Michigan lawmaker who died at age 92 last week, urged congressional leaders not to shortchange the Food Safety Modernization Act FSMA in the name of deficit reduction. Dingell, the longest serving member of Congress, had a hand in everything from health care to civil rights in his nearly six decades on Capitol Hill, but one of his last major achievements is less well known outside Washington: He was the architect and driving force behind FSMA.

The bill was Congress' response to a string of high-profile, deadly foodborne illness outbreaks that exposed the shortcomings of the country's food safety system. But eight years after the sweeping measure became into law, Congress has still not fully funded implementation, Pro Ag's Helena Bottemiller Evich reports.

The topline: The Congressional Budget Office estimated that FDA would need $583 million added to its base budget to implement the law. Eight years later, Congress has given FDA just under half that amount.

Stephen Ostroff, who left his post as FDA deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine last month, told POLITICO there are still "significant gaps" in FSMA implementation. He said he's especially concerned with the agency's lack of resources for overseeing food facilities and produce growers in foreign countries whose products are imported into the U.S.

As POLITICO reported in 2015, the Obama administration repeatedly didn't ask Congress for enough money to implement FSMA (big increases started coming through in 2016). The Trump administration, for its part, has requested modest cuts to FDA's food budget, though Congress has chosen to hold the agency's food safety funding relatively steady.

Produce inspections coming soon: The lag in funding continues as major parts of FSMA have already gone into effect over the past few years, with more deadlines coming up: The FDA late last week confirmed the agency plans to start produce safety inspections this spring for the largest farms.

State support: The FDA has been giving money to states to help implement FSMA. The agency has granted 46 states and one territory more than $85 million through the State Produce Implementation Cooperative Agreement Program , FDA said last week.

The money is for states to develop their own food safety systems, including education, training, technical assistance and inspections.