USDA eliminates two food safety advisory committees

By Tom Polansek and Leah Douglas

CHICAGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Department of Agriculture has eliminated two committees that advise it on food safety, the agency said on Friday, raising concerns about government oversight of the food supply as the Trump administration seeks to downsize the federal bureaucracy and slash costs.

The USDA eliminated the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods and the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection, a spokesperson said. 

The committees provided scientific advice to the USDA and other federal agencies on public-health issues related to food safety, said the non-profit consumer advocacy group Consumer Reports. Representatives of the group had served on both committees, according to USDA websites.

The committees were terminated under an executive order aimed at reducing bureaucracy, the agency spokesperson said.

Committee members were informed of the termination of the microbiological committee on March 6, according to an email from USDA received by committee members and seen by Reuters.

The USDA spokesperson said the agency remained committed to food safety.

"The termination of these two important advisory committees is very alarming," said Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports.

Randy Worobo, a food science professor at Cornell University, sat on the microbiological committee and confirmed it was eliminated as of Thursday. Members were appointed and received no financial compensation, he said.

"It was important because it gave unbiased microbiological criteria recommendations by the expert-appointed committee for many of the regulatory agencies," Worobo said.

The panels had an annual combined budget of $300,000 for staff support and travel reimbursement for members, according to their websites.

Representatives of the Meat Institute, an industry group for meat processors, sat on both committees, according to USDA websites. Major meat companies, including Cargill, Smithfield Foods and OSI Group, were committee members too, the websites show.

"We are disappointed in the decision to shut down the advisory councils, but it does not change the industry's dedication to improving food safety," said Sarah Little, spokesperson for the Meat Institute.

Nonprofit group Stop Foodborne Illness, which served on the meat and poultry inspection committee, said it had not been informed of USDA's elimination of the panels.

"Without the input of these committees, we have little confidence that the food safety policies at USDA and FDA (Food and Drug Administration) will, in fact, 'Make America Healthy Again,'" said CEO Sandra Eskin, a former USDA acting under secretary for food safety, referring to a slogan used by President Donald Trump and other administration officials.

(Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago and Leah Douglas in Washington; Editing by Paul Simao)