USDA, FDA personnel respond to food safety survey

A survey addressed to 8,100 USDA and FDA scientists involved with food safety resulted in a 20% response rate, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, the originators of the study. Of the respondents, 10% indicated they had encountered occasional or frequent requests from their agency administrators to alter technical information or exclude data to conform to desired regulatory outcomes. Approximately 20% of respondents reported occasional to frequent involvement of corporate or extra-agency pressure to amend technical information.