WASHINGTON, DC - The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, chaired by Rep. Gregg Harper (R-MS), today announced a hearing for Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, at 9 a.m. in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing is entitled, “Safety of the U.S. Food Supply: Continuing Concerns Over the Food and Drug Administration’s Food-Recall Process."
#SubOversight ’s hearing comes on the heels of a December 2017 report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG). The report identified a number of deficiencies in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) food-recall process, including: that FDA could not always ensure that firms initiated recalls promptly and that FDA did not always evaluate health hazards in a timely manner; issue audit check assignments at the appropriate level; complete audit checks in accordance with its procedures; collect timely and complete status reports from firms that have issued recalls; track key recall data in their electronic system; and maintain accurate recall data in the electronic data system.
The subcommittee will also examine what actions FDA is taking to address the concerns raised by this report.
Confirmed witnesses include:
* Gloria Jarmon, Deputy Inspector General for Audit Services, HHS Office of Inspector General; and,
* Douglas Stearn, FDA, Office of Regulatory Affairs, Director, Office of Enforcement and Import Operations
“Next week will be an important opportunity to take a deeper dive into this report’s findings and hear directly from the FDA to learn more about the action they are taking to address these concerns," said Chairman Harper. “Food recalls are an important public health tool and we need to know that FDA has a comprehensive plan in place on how they handle these events - voluntary or not."
The Majority Memorandum, witness list, and witness testimony for the hearing will be available here as they are posted.
