There might be problems with the proposal to move food safety oversight responsibilities to a single agency within the USDA, said Bryan Endres, a professor of agriculture law at the University of Illinois. Potential sticking points, according to Endres, could result from foods with specific functions, such as those that deliver health benefits.
“The trend you’re seeing over the last 20 years is this blurring between what is a food and what is a supplement, or then what is a food and what is a drug, and all of the expertise on there would still be with the FDA,” said Endres, “yet that part would move over to the USDA.”
The USDA’s food safety enforcement is based on inspections rather than on the FDA’s risk-based enforcement, said Endres, whose recommendation would be opposite the administration’s proposal.
