More than 200 federal food safety officers say they have personally been pressured by their superiors to exclude data or change policies or actions aimed at protecting the U.S. food supply, according to a new survey.
The Union of Concerned Scientists, which conducted the survey along with researchers at Iowa State University, says industry groups and sympathetic politicians regularly interfere with government scientists and inspectors in an effort to slant their findings.
The survey was based on responses from more than 1,700 inspectors, scientists and support staff at the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Thirty-eight percent agreed that “public health has been harmed by agency practices that defer to business interests”, while another 31 percent felt that the presence of former food industry officials in high-ranking agency jobs “inappropriately influences decisions.” Forty-five percent said that they had experienced undue interference by a member of Congress.
The case of Dean Wyatt, a USDA veterinarian who supervises the inspection of slaughterhouses, was reflective of the general tendency, according to The Los Angeles Times. During the Bush presidency, “Wyatt was reprimanded, demoted and eventually transferred when he documented inhumane treatment of hogs at a slaughtering plant in Oklahoma. He was transferred to a calf slaughterhouse in Vermont, where he has worked throughout the Obama administration.”
Wyatt told the paper that on three occasions he suspended processing operations because of food safety violations, only to have his supervisors intervene to reopen the plant later.
Wyatt also told Reuters that the pattern of interference is deeply ingrained.
“Upper level management does not adequately support field inspectors and the actions they take to protect the food supply,” he said. “Not only is there lack of support, but there’s outright obstruction, retaliation and abuse of power.”
Francesca Grifo of the Union of Concerned Scientists told the L.A. Times that the persistence of reports of improper manipulation of the agencies’ work indicates that the only true solution is legislation to insulate government scientists. “What we found is that action is needed to curtail interference in science, both political and that driven by the private sector,” said Grifo. “We have two very different agencies giving very identical responses, and this suggests the need for broad reform.”
The USDA responded with a statement saying, “Food safety is the sole function of our Food Safety Inspection Service and no other considerations should detract from carrying out their mission.”
