At the same time, contaminated pet food from China exposed weaknesses in the agency's system for regulating imports. Consumer groups lambasted the agency for failing to protect the public; food-borne illnesses sicken as many as 76 million people and kill an estimated 5,000 each year.
Growers complained that the FDA's failure to identify the source of contaminated food quickly intensified public fears. That, in turn, severely hurt the market for products like leafy greens and tomatoes.
"The spinach industry has never recovered," said Tom Nassif, who heads the Western Growers Association, a leading national trade group based in California.
Independent reviews by the Government Accountability Office and others found the agency lacked even basic information technology capabilities to analyze data and assess risks.
"We need some radical shifts," Dr. David Acheson, FDA's associate commissioner for foods, acknowledged in a recent interview.
A year ago, the FDA announced its own plan for reform, promising a major expansion of overseas inspections, better systems to identify where risks are highest and more cooperation with state and local authorities as well as industry.
The agency opened an office in China this year and plans to open ones in India and Latin America in 2009. But the promised changes have not come soon enough for critics, including many on Capitol Hill. "There is little question that the FDA is dysfunctional," said Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, who has pushed for a more sweeping overhaul of the agency. "The current structure is incapable of addressing food safety problems."
