In the crush of legislation this year, the bill expanding those powers never came up for a vote. Next year Congress may be preoccupied with the economy and potentially with a healthcare overhaul.
More money is also an uncertain prospect, though many in the food industry agree that inadequate FDA funding has hobbled the agency's ability to keep up with the rapidly expanding food marketplace.
Last year, fewer domestic food companies were inspected than in 2001, even though more firms were under FDA jurisdiction -- 65,000, up from 51,000 -- according to the GAO.
"They simply have to hire an inspection force that can enforce the rules," said Tony Corbo, senior food lobbyist for Food and Water Watch, a consumer rights group in Washington.
One of the leading champions of more FDA funding is the Grocery Manufacturing Assn., which represents food and beverage companies.
This year the Bush administration requested an additional $275 million for the FDA's food safety program in the wake of the salmonella scandal. Last year the agency received $620 million for food protection, the GAO calculated.
It is virtually certain that the agency will have to rely on private companies to do much of its food inspection, a prospect accepted even by lawmakers like Durbin, who has long championed tougher consumer protections.
Durbin's bill would have allowed so-called third parties to inspect domestic and foreign food supplies to ensure they comply with U.S. standards.
Obama has not indicated what he has planned for the FDA, although he is expected to name his choice to head the agency soon.
Many are watching closely. "Consumer groups," said Chris Waldrop, who directs the Food Policy Institute at the Consumer Federation of America, "have very high expectations that this administration will do things differently."
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noam.levey@latimes.com
