The Food Safety Modernization Act, enacted in 2011, set an annual target of 19,200 foreign food facility inspections. In fiscal 2019, the agency's strongest year, it completed 1,727 foreign inspections, about 9 percent of the target. In July 2024, the agency had 432 investigators, about 90 percent of its full-time equivalent ceiling, covering both domestic and foreign inspections. Under the Foreign Supplier Verification Program, U.S. importers are legally responsible for verifying that the foreign suppliers they buy from produce food meeting American safety standards. The GAO has asked Congress to direct the FDA to determine how many foreign inspections are necessary and to update the target accordingly.