Bicameral EFSIA is a Commendable First Step in Addressing a 'Crappy' Problem

The Expanded Food Safety Investigation Act (EFSIA) was reintroduced to U.S. Congress by Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) in September, following Representative Rosa DeLauro's (D-CT) reintroduction of the bill to the House of Representatives in June 2023. If passed, the bill would aid foodborne illness and outbreak investigations and contribute to scientific knowledge on the spread of foodborne pathogens in the agricultural environment.

The EFSIA would allow U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) investigators to enter concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and conduct microbial sampling to trace foodborne illness outbreaks. At present, farms are the only food-producing businesses with the ability to refuse federal investigators entry to their premises to collect samples.

"Under current law, multinational corporations have the power to stop an FDA foodborne illness investigation in its tracks. That cannot stand," said Representative DeLauro. There are many in the food safety community who agree with her.

The legislation would also enhance understanding about how foodborne pathogens spread from farms. Granting FDA and CDC authorities the ability to enter farms and take microbial samples would aid foodborne illness outbreak investigators where they are currently hindered. It would also allow them to make observations about other environmental and operational details that are necessary to understand the root causes of pathogen spread from farms to growing areas.

Senator Booker commented, "This bicameral legislation is a necessary step toward addressing the threats posed by foodborne illnesses stemming from animal agriculture and ensuring better transparency in our food system." 

“Under current law, multinational corporations have the power to stop an FDA foodborne illness investigation in its tracks. That cannot stand.”

— Representative Rosa DeLauro

Better transparency sounds good, but what will that help us achieve in the long run? It is well known that CAFOs located near agricultural growing operations introduce significant risk to the food products. But how close is too close? Perhaps the "better transparency" offered by sample collection on farms by federal investigators will offer some more clues to better answer this question. Certainly, this would be a commendable outcome of the EFSIA in action.

A more crucial question—one that doesn't appear to have a good answer, or the promise of one anytime soon—is: why are CAFOs and agricultural growing operations permitted to be located in close enough proximity so that pathogenic bacteria from the animal operations can easily migrate to the leafy greens that fill our salad bowls? The Leafy Greens Marketing Agreements in California and Arizona—which represent around 95 percent of the leafy greens grown in the U.S.—have widened the buffer zones for their members' operations located near CAFOs of certain sizes in past years, but outbreaks continue to occur.

The "better transparency" promised by the information-gathering capabilities outlined in the EFSIA will have little impact unless more stringent buffer zones are scientifically and strategically outlined and implemented. These zones must consider a number of factors in addition to land use and irrigation/drainage practices, including animal waste disposal, farm and harvesting equipment movement and sanitation practices, and the migrations of birds, insects, and dust, among others.

Federal agencies, leafy greens growers, and farm operators should not turn a blind eye to these known risks. The consumers under their care and the customers of their products are counting on them.

References

1. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "Adoption of the FDA Food Code by State and Territorial Agencies Responsible for the Oversight of Restaurants and/or Retail Food Stores." 2021. https://www.fda.gov/media/107543/download.