President Obama has yet to nominate an individual to lead the Food Safety and Inspection Service, leaving the agency headless at a time when food safety consistently shows up on the national radar.

When it comes to food safety, the Food and Drug Administration gets most of the attention; but USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service plays a critical role as well. FSIS is responsible for the safety of America’s supply of beef, pork, chicken, and eggs, among other livestock-related commodities.

As Congress Daily points out today, Obama’s executive order on lobbying and ethics may be to blame for the delay: “[Agriculture Secretary Tom] Vilsack said the administration wants to follow its rule ‘to make sure people haven't had lobbying experience’ and is thoroughly vetting all candidates.”

Because the order was so ill-conceived, its prohibition on lobbyists serving in government may be preventing Obama from nominating the most qualified candidates. The order does not differentiate between those who lobby on behalf of consumers and those who lobby on behalf of entities regulated by the government. The order targets lobbyists of every stripe. While the order allows the administration to grant waivers, senior officials have been reticent or unwilling to do so.

Subsequently, a food safety lobbyist – who may very well possess not just the expertise but the tenacity and conviction needed at a time when the food safety net is showing its holes – is treated the same as a food industry lobbyist: neither can lead FSIS. Conversely, an executive at a food processing conglomerate may not necessarily be prohibited from serving, so long as he or she was not a registered lobbyist. (I don’t expect Obama to nominate an industry representative, but the dilemma is obvious.)

Meanwhile, Congress is considering major reforms to the country’s food safety system. The lack of leadership at FSIS means one of the government’s two major players in the food safety arena can’t participate in the debate, as Congress Daily also mentions.

FSIS faces its own challenges too. The agency is short on staff and money. Since FSIS is responsible for physically inspecting all the meat destined for U.S. store shelves, its workload is ever mounting. Although FSIS has an acting head, without the certainty of strong leadership, it feels like consumers are eating on borrowed time.

Image by Flickr user mroczknj, used under a Creative Commons license.