IMPEACH BUSH

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Government oversight of the U.S. food supply is a "sorry mess," a top lawmaker charged Tuesday, promising to fight for legislation to pour more resources into the Food and Drug Administration in the wake of a flurry of reports of tainted food.

Congressional investigators told the House Energy and Commerce Committee Tuesday that the FDA lacks the resources and authority to ensure food safety, and that the FDA's recent decision to reorganize its food-safety division and to close and consolidate labs would probably make matters worse.

In the wake of reports of contaminated food not only from China but also from domestic processors, the FDA's approach of relying on voluntary compliance "appears inadequate in responding to the changing food industry," said David Nelson, a senior investigator for the committee.

"FDA's ill-conceived decision to close seven of its 13 laboratories likely would expose American consumers to even more danger from unsafe foods, particularly imports," said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the oversight subcommittee.

Criticism of the FDA was bipartisan. "The FDA must enter the 21st century," said Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.

Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., chairman of the full committee, said that the recent reports of unsafe food showed "the sorry state of federal oversight of the domestic food supply" and called the FDA "a sorry mess."

He promised legislation soon to provide more funding to the FDA for food safety and to give the agency more authority to monitor, test and respond.

The head of the FDA, Andrew von Eschenbach, defended his agency's record, citing the quick response to contamination of fresh spinach and peanut butter last year. "The American food supply continues to be among the safest in the world," he said in his testimony. "Although we have made progress, much remains to be done."

Von Eschenbach added that the reorganization and consolidation of FDA labs would save money and improve the testing of suspect foods. "With rapid-delivery services widely available, these laboratories do not need to be near every sample collection site."

But staff investigator Nelson commented that the reorganization appears to be "counterproductive" and needlessly wasteful. "FDA has failed to provide any analysis justifying this radical reorganization," he testified, saying that decisions about which district offices to close appeared to be based upon vacancies or pending retirements of district directors. End of Story

Rex Nutting is Washington bureau chief of MarketWatch.