"Food Safety Law’s Funding Is Far Below Estimated Requirement"

"WASHINGTON — After thousands of people were sickened by tainted eggs, peanut butter and spinach, Congress passed a sweeping food safety law in 2010 that gave the Food and Drug Administration new powers to prevent additional outbreaks. But lawmakers have not provided enough money for the mission.

The Congressional Budget Office said the F.D.A. would need a total of $580 million from 2011 to 2015 to carry out the changes required by the Food Safety Modernization Act. So far, Congress has appropriated less than half of that amount, even as the agency is moving to issue crucial rules under the law this year.

'I don’t think it’s too much to say that the success' of the overhaul 'is on the line,' Michael R. Taylor, the deputy F.D.A. commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine, said in an interview. 'We have good plans for moving forward. The problem is we don’t have the money.'"

Ron Nixon reports for the New York Times April 7, 2015.