A Food Safety Manifesto for the FDA

I have a lot of food safety friends – some who will and will not admit it publicly.  Here is one of the best emails I received recently after Politico posted “The FDA’s Food Failure,” a 36-page investigation (Pulitzer Prize eligible) by Helena Bottemiller Evich that details the fact that food safety is not a high priority at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Here is just a sampling of what this one, unnamed food safety advocate, suggests:

• Swiftly finalize remaining FSMA rules, including the rules on traceability and ag water.
• Strengthen proposed safety standards for agricultural water, including mandatory water testing requirements and a requirement to treat water that is high-risk before using it in growing.
• Swiftly develop standards for toxic metals in baby foods that are based on risks to infants, not industry concerns about sourcing.
• Reform the food additives approval process to ensure new food additives are given adequate safety review.
• Move FDA funding from agriculture committee to health committee and enhance funding for CFSAN
• Enhance agency the agency’s food operations by re-organizing and centralize and streamline the agency’s operations, with direct accountability to the Commissioner.
• Investigate the agency’s inspection practices to identify why the agency failed to detect the issues that contributed to the recent outbreak of Cronobacter in infant formula.
• Enhance the agency’s capacity to solve outbreaks and require recalls.
• Issue 10 year sodium reduction targets and develop accountability for industry that fails to meet those targets
• Design a clear, mandatory, front-of-package labeling system to identify foods that are high in unhealthy nutrients

Republished with permission from Bill Marler and Marler Clark. Copyright (c) Marler Clark LLP, PS. All rights reserved.