A Few Thoughts On The State Of The FDA
1. People keep being surprised that the FDA does not have the power to invoke food recalls itself. Marion Nestle says the FDA’s authority relegates it to asking the companies to “pretty please” recall tainted food (link). This must be why the ‘A’ stands for administration and not authority. The FDA alert about the recent pistachio recall demonstrates the passive nature of the governmental body: “FDA first learned of the problem on March 24, when it was informed by Kraft Foods that its Back To Nature Trail Mix was found to be contaminated with Salmonella. Kraft had identified the source of the contamination to be pistachios from Setton and conducted a recall” (link).
2. Congress was recently debating whether or not tobacco regulation should be moved to under the umbrella of the FDA. Opponents had said basically that the FDA “had proven through food safety failures that it’s not up to the job” (link). Their argument is that the FDA doesn’t have enough money to do its job now, so it shouldn’t be given the extra responsibility of overseeing tobacco. Somehow, giving the administration more money doesn’t enter into the thought process. Obama said he was wanted to up the budget of the FDA, but, in the end, it’s up to Congress to distribute funds. (The House approved the motion to move tobacco under the oversight of the FDA. It goes to the Senate later this month.)
3. It is true that there have been more and more food safety failures, but chastising the FDA will not prevent food safety risks. The CDC recognizes the growing number of failures and calls for system-wide reform to prevent bacterial contamination. Their data show that:
Efforts to reduce the number of food-borne illnesses in the United States have stalled in the past three years, and some illnesses are on the upswing, giving new urgency to efforts to reform the nation’s food safety system, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported yesterday.
Sinister, isn't it?
How Congress could ignore the continual rise in food poisoning for so many years is beyond me. Regardless, the recent peanut and pistachio fiascos should hopefully create enough fervor within the populace and the legislative branch to make the necessary changes. The populist rage directed at high earning CEOs, etc, should really be refocused on the fact that the government has allowed such enormous dangers to the public health. The economic recession is important, but what if your next peanut-butter and jelly sandwich could kill you!?
April 11, 2009
Tags: Barack Obama, FDA, food safety, Health, policy Posted in: Health, Politics
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