Mon, Sep 29, 2008 (2:06 a.m.)

The Food and Drug Administration frequently has been criticized for doing a shoddy job of protecting the American consumer, but improvements have been slow in coming, if at all. That’s why we’re not confident that yet another scathing investigation of the agency will accomplish anything beyond reminding the public just how poorly the FDA goes about its business.

The Associated Press obtained an advance copy Thursday of a report from the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, that found the FDA has difficulty preventing food-borne illnesses because it doesn’t have enough inspectors and has failed to implement a program devoted to the safety of fresh produce.

Don’t be surprised, then, if we have a repeat of what happened in 2006, when three people died and 200 were sickened as the result of eating bagged spinach that was contaminated with E. coli bacteria.

“This report paints a frightening picture of the FDA’s fresh produce safety efforts,” Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., told the AP. “It should serve as a wake-up call to do more to protect the nation’s food supply.”

The problem is that no one at the FDA seems to be listening and Congress has not stepped up to the plate to increase the agency’s funding so it can do its job properly.

Consider that the agency found food safety problems at more than 800 plants from 2000 to 2007 but inspected half of those plants only once during that time because it put faith in the businesses to take corrective action without oversight.

Consider that 14 people died and 10,253 became ill due to contaminated fresh produce consumed from 1996 through 2006. An additional 1,440 individuals in 43 states contracted salmonella this summer, and although blame was placed on peppers from Mexico and domestic and imported tomatoes, the source was never proved definitively.

Yet, as the AP reported, only 3 percent of the FDA’s food safety budget is devoted to fresh produce inspections.

The GAO report should serve as a wake-up call that consumers deserve far better protection from contaminated produce. Let’s not wait for the next outbreak of a food-borne illness to take action.