21 U.S.C. § 2101: Findings

the safety and integrity of the United States food supply are vital to public health, to public confidence in the food supply, and to the success of the food sector of the Nation’s economy; have contributed to a loss of public confidence in food safety; and have caused significant economic losses to manufacturers and producers not responsible for contaminated food items; emerging pathogens and other contaminants and the ability to detect all forms of contamination; an increasing volume of imported food from a wide variety of countries; and a shortage of adequate resources for monitoring and inspection; from 2003 to 2007, the value of food imports has increased from $45,600,000,000 to $64,000,000,000; and imported food accounts for 13 percent of the average American diet including 31 percent of fruits, juices, and nuts, 9.5 percent of red meat, and 78.6 percent of fish and shellfish; and the number of full-time equivalent Food and Drug Administration employees conducting inspections has decreased from 2003 to 2007.