Homeland Security Department Conducts Fewer Food Inspections, GAO Says

Inspections of imported food at U.S. ports have decreased since they were shifted from the Agriculture Department to the Homeland Security Department, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a report released yesterday (see GSN, March 9).

The decrease in inspections, from 40.9 million in fiscal 2002 to 37.5 million in fiscal 2004 after the transfer, came when “experts agree that U.S. agriculture is vulnerable to agroterrorism because of the relative ease with which highly contagious diseases can be introduced in livestock and crops,” the report says.

The Homeland Security Department said in a written response to the report that it plans to hire an additional 500 inspectors over the next year (Mimi Hall, USA Today, March 10).

Back to top
About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines © Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.