ABSTRACT
Foodborne illness in the United States is an extensive and expensive problem. Federal and state expenditures for activities to help ensure the safety of the nation’s food supply are also significant. The cost of federal efforts alone exceeds $1 billion annually. To obtain a better understanding of federal food safety efforts, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) has conducted a series of studies to determine the amount of resources that were expended by federal and state agencies for food safety measures and how the agencies used these resources (see U.S. GAO 1992; 1994; 1996; 1997a, b; 1998a, b; 1999, 2001).
