Food Safety on 'Back Burner'

Given the increase in cases of food-borne illnesses in recent years, you might think that the can-do Obama administration is going to take swift action, adequately funding the Food and Drug Administration and removing it as much as possible from the vicissitudes of politics.

But you'd be wrong. All that might happen, but thanks to the recession and two wars, reforming the FDA will be "on the back burner," the Los Angeles Times reported last week.

Even leading proponents of reform say so. The FDA, and hence the safety of our food supply, "will have to wait its turn," said Sen. Richard Durbin, a longtime advocate of stronger food laws and a friend of Obama.

In the meantime, the Times reports, the federal government will continue to rely on the food industry to regulate itself. And we see where that's gotten us: tainted peanut butter, disease-ridden spinach, sick-making peppers, contaminated pet food imported from China. (Never mind the outbreaks of disease carried by meat and poultry, which, along with dairy products, are regulated by the Department of Agriculture.)

In many of the recent cases, the FDA embarrassed itself and did all kinds of harm as it fumbled around trying to find out why people were getting sick. The American tomato industry lost lots of business after it was fingered as the culprit for a salmonella outbreak this year until the FDA realized that Mexican jalapeno peppers were actually to blame.

"Independent reviews by the Government Accountability Office and others found the agency lacked even basic information technology capabilities to analyze data and assess risks," the Times reported. And one Democratic congresswoman called the agency "dysfunctional."

What is needed is a complete overhaul of the food-safety system. One idea being floated is to create a new agency that would do the jobs that the FDA and USDA (theoretically) perform separately. This would not only streamline the system, but it would go a long way toward removing political considerations from food-safety regulations. Part of the USDA's mandate is to "promote" American agriculture, a function that, to put it mildly, tends to counteract its watchdog role.

And the FDA is so busy evaluating drugs and medical devices that its food-safety function is severely compromised.  

Such massive change, however, seems far off when even its proponents are calling for patience.