TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Federal officials are strengthening how three agencies coordinate testing for heavy metals and other contaminants in the nation’s food supply, saying the changes come as consumers increasingly want to know more about the food they bring home.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Health and Human Services and Environmental Protection Agency recently signed a July 10 memorandum of understanding designed to improve information sharing and coordination among the agencies responsible for monitoring contaminants in food.
The agreement does not create a new food testing program. Instead, it builds on existing efforts by establishing a framework for the agencies to share data, coordinate surveillance and respond more efficiently when contaminants are detected.
At Davis Produce & Country Market in Tallahassee, Channing Flynt sees those questions from customers every day.
As a mother of three, she understands them herself.
“They want to know where it’s grown, who’s growing it, where it’s coming from and if it has any pesticides or anything in it,” Flynt said.
Federal officials say that growing public interest is one reason closer coordination is becoming more important.
The memorandum also expands USDA surveillance into additional processed meat and poultry products and incorporates a new Food Safety and Inspection Service laboratory method capable of detecting 18 heavy metals in food samples.
“We’re reforming infant formula… We’re redoing the nutrients, making sure to test for all the contaminants,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said during a April Senate committee hearing.
While the announcement highlights new coordination between federal agencies, officials emphasize that testing for contaminants is not new.
USDA has long monitored meat and poultry products for heavy metals and other chemical contaminants, while FDA oversees most other foods and EPA establishes standards for contaminants that may enter the food supply through the environment.
The new agreement is intended to make those agencies work more closely by improving communication, sharing laboratory information and coordinating responses when contaminants are identified.
Florida also plays a role in that system.
According to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, its Food Safety Division conducts inspections, collects food samples and performs laboratory testing to help enforce both state and federal food safety laws.
FOX49 asked the department whether the new federal agreement will change how it conducts those responsibilities or coordinates with federal agencies, but it did not respond to requests for an interview.
For Flynt, government testing is only part of the equation.
She believes consumers also want confidence in where their food comes from before it ever reaches the checkout line.
“You know where it’s coming from, you know what they are spraying on it, what it’s touching,” Flynt said. “And I think that gives the customers a lot of comfort knowing where it’s coming from.”
She said that confidence ultimately begins with asking questions and making informed choices about the food her own family eats.
“I try to keep it clean and healthy as possible,” she said.
Federal officials say consumers are unlikely to notice any immediate changes from the new agreement at the grocery store. Instead, they describe it as a behind-the-scenes effort to improve how agencies already responsible for food safety coordinate testing and share information as they monitor the nation’s food supply.