NaturalNews.com printable article
Originally published July 11 2008

FDA Failing the American People Over Food Safety, Regulation
by David Gutierrez

(NaturalNews) The FDA lacks sufficient funds to properly monitor
emerging technologies and threats, and as such is unable to properly
regulate new technologies, drugs and foods, according to a report by
the agency's Subcommittee on Science and Technology.

The FDA's resources are going mostly into responding to crises, the
report said, leaving the FDA unable to be proactive about emerging
threats.

"Crisis management in the FDA's two food safety centers ... has drawn
attention and resources away from FDA's ability to develop the science
base and infrastructure needed to efficiently support innovation in
the food industry, provide effective routine surveillance, and conduct
emergency outbreak investigation activities to protect food," the
report said.

The report cites nanotechnology as an example of an area where the FDA
has failed to monitor rapidly emerging science. Although
nanotechnology is fundamentally different from prior technologies, the
FDA has failed to regulate it any differently.

The subcommittee recommended the formation of a department dedicated
to liaising with groups involved in new technologies.

The FDA has also fallen short in its responsibility to inspect the
U.S. food supply, the report says. Funding for food inspection has
dropped over the past 35 years, leading to a 78 percent reduction in
the frequency of inspections. Currently, food manufacturers are
inspected only once every 10 years, and retail establishments and
farms are never inspected. At the same time, the report notes, the
food industry has rapidly expanded, and so have food imports.

Even in the area of crisis management, the report says, the FDA has
still fallen short, particularly with new and emerging threats.

For example, when bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or "mad cow
disease," first appeared in Europe and the FDA imposed new regulations
on animal feed, the government denied the agency funding to implement
those new rules. According to the report, this allowed BSE to infect
U.S. cattle.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is
protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole
responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard
products and earns no money from the recommendation of products.
NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes
only and should not be construed as professional advice from any
licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for
the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of
this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml

http://www.naturalnews.com/023613.html