By Mark Drajem and Roger Runningen

A White House panel investigating ways to head off imports of dangerous products recommended empowering the Food and Drug Administration to order recalls of tainted food and expanding inspections overseas.

President George W. Bush today endorsed the findings of the Cabinet-level commission he appointed, which also called for increasing penalties for companies that sell dangerous products and establishing a certification program for producers that meet safety standards.

``We need to do more to ensure that American families have confidence in what they find on our store shelves,'

Bush said at the White House. ``Unfortunately, in recent months, Americans have seen imports from toys to toothpaste to pet food recalled because of safety concerns.'

The administration is reacting to growing concerns about the safety of consumer goods, which have escalated since March when melamine, a substance used to make plastics, was found in Chinese-made pet food and subsequent revelations of contaminated vitamins, lead paint on toys and deadly cribs.

Just today Mattel Inc., which has already recalled more than 21 million Chinese-made toys this year, asked consumers to stop using 196,000 kitchen toys made in Mexico because small pieces may pose a choking hazard.

At the Source

Bush and Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt, who headed the commission, said the U.S. needs to stop dangerous food and consumer goods at the source, before they reach the border.

Congress also is pursuing legislation that would boost fines on companies that sell dangerous products, give regulators more authority to recall items and ban lead in all toys.

Democrats, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, contend that Bush has been too cozy with corporate interests. They say his administration cut funding for safety agencies and has gone easy on companies accused of selling unsafe products.

The report was released just after Nancy Nord, acting chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, testified before the House Commerce committee to defend trips she took that were paid for by industries regulated by the commission.

"It's encouraging that the White House has realized that we need to do something dramatic," said Representative Diana DeGette, a Colorado Democrat and member of the House committee. `"But these proposals are pretty vague."

$2 Trillion

The U.S. imports foods and products valued at almost $2 trillion annually at 300 ports of entry from about 825,000 importers. The value is expected to triple in eight years.

Bush formed his Working Group on Import Safety in July, and appointed Leavitt to direct the study by representatives from 11 other departments and agencies.

The panel gave 50 recommendations in 14 categories to improve the safety and reliability of imports. One of the major immediate goals listed by the panel is authorizing the FDA to recall contaminated food when it poses a serious threat to health and a company either refuses to recall its products or isn't acting fast enough.

The FDA ``has not had that authority in the past,' Leavitt said at a White House briefing. ``But that is a role that government alone can and should play.'

The FDA issued a separate plan today describing steps the agency plans to take to improve the safety of food produced both domestically and overseas. The plan says the FDA wants to collect more information that will allow regulators to target products posing the biggest risks.

Support for Recommendations

Groups representing the largest makers of toys and food said they supported providing more funding to government safety regulators. The Grocery Manufacturers Association said in a statement that it approved giving the FDA the power to mandate recalls.

Drugmakers said the provisions may have limited effect.

``FDA inspection is a small component of the overall quality and safety of the pharmaceuticals sold in the UniteStates, and the bigger problem is the counterfeiters' who don't register with the FDA, said Bruce Downey, chief executive officer of Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc., in a phone interview today. Barr produces generic and brand-name drugs at its headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, and in Croatia.

Some lawmakers welcomed the administration's proposal.

``I'm happy the White House has decided to join those of us in Congress who, for years, have been advocating many of the policies proposed today,' said Richard Durbin of Illinois, the Senate's second-ranking Democrat.

Leavitt said the recommendations shift the government's strategy from trying to find defective goods at the border to seeking to ensure that ``quality is built in' to products before shipment to the U.S. To do that, companies and foreign government inspectors must certify that the products are safe, Leavitt said.