Politico Investigates FDA’s Actions on Food

Politico has published a report on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) based on more than 50 interviews with current and former employees of the agency, including former FDA commissioners. “There is a remarkable level of consensus that the agency is simply not working,” states the report. “Current and former officials and industry professionals used terms like ‘ridiculous,’ ‘impossible,’ ‘broken,’ ‘byzantine’ and ‘a joke’ to describe the state of food regulation at FDA.” Subjects examined by the investigation include leadership issues within the food division of the agency, a lack of action on foodborne illnesses, the issue of heavy metals in baby food and delays on nutrition targets.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) sent a letter to Commissioner Robert Califf expressing concern over the findings of Politico’s investigation. “This report highlighted several delays in regulatory action that have endangered the public health. Over a decade after the Food Safety Modernization Act was implemented, the FDA has yet to issue safety standards required by the law, and hundreds of people have been sickened due to foodborne illness. Despite recognition within the agency of the danger of toxic elements in baby food, the FDA has not imposed strict safety standards, even as report after report has identified unacceptably high levels of lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, and other toxins in baby food. The agency has not even finalized long-term voluntary reduction targets for sodium in food, despite a recommendation to do so in 2010.”