President Obama Issues Executive Order For USDA Data Sharing
By Laurel Maloy, contributing writer, Food Online
The memorandum from the Executive Office of the President is for all governmental agencies, with the subject line: Guidance for Providing and Using Administrative Data for Statistical Purposes
During the same time frame as FSMA was signed into law, President Obama also issued a Presidential Memoranda on Regulatory Compliance. In the Memorandum, he references a previous Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government, issued on January 21, 2009. The purpose of both is to “promote accountability, encourage collaboration, and provide information to Americans about their Government’s activities.”
The process was further expanded when, a month later, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent out a memorandum to all Executive Departments and agencies, referencing the President’s transparency memo. The OMB’s memorandum, entitled, “The President’s Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government—Interagency Collaboration, announces the OMB’s plan to develop a directive that combines the two goals. Then, on December 8, 2009, the OMB issued the Open Government Directive. This document established the guidelines and deadlines for publishing government information online, improving its quality, and for creating a framework and culture of open government.
Further guidance is received on May 9, 2013, when the OMB issued a memorandum with the subject: Open Data Policy—Managing Information as an Asset. Then, on February 14 of last year, a memorandum on Guidance for Providing and Using Administrative Data for Statistical Purposes is issued by the OMB, providing even more direction.
We have seen this open government policy in action as FSMA has been drafted, the entire process being shared through the FDA website, the Federal Register, public meetings, and webinars. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is now responding to those memoranda, the agency drafting its FSIS Establishment-Specific Data Release Strategic Plan. Filed in the Federal Register on January 15, 2015, the public comment period is open through March 16, 2015.
In the notice, FSIS provides an overview of its responsibilities for ensuring the safety of commercially-prepared and -processed egg, poultry, and meat products. The agency inspects slaughtering and processing facilities, but also collects and tests microbial and chemical residue samples. During the entire process, an establishment’s food-safety plan, including its Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system, is being examined. The purpose is to ensure each plant’s food-safety activities are addressing its inherent food-safety hazards.
During the inspection process, FSIS collects large amounts of data specific to the establishment being inspected, particularly in regard to pathogens and residues. The agency is not only responsible for domestic operations, but collects information on products being imported from foreign countries. The data is formulated for internal use, but is also shared publicly through the agency’s web site, aggregated in summary format for public consumption. However, the data, as it is currently shared, is not quite the user-friendly information envisioned for open communication with the public.