Agricultural News
Report Shows FDA Weaknesses
Wed, 07 Apr 2010 17:34:35 CDTThe Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General has released a report on the Food and Drug Administration's inspections of domestic food facilities. Among its findings, the report identifies significant weaknesses in FDA's inspections, including the fact FDA inspects less than a quarter of food facilities each year, and that more than half of all food facilities have gone five or more years without an FDA inspection.
Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, who requested the report when he was Chairman of the Senate Ag Committee, says - this report shows what we have feared for too long: that that our domestic food facilities are not being adequately inspected and FDA needs additional authorities to keep the food on our tables safe. Harkin says - this is unacceptable in our modern society.
Harkin hopes this report will spur the Senate past party line bickering to pass the FDA Food Modernization Act of 2009 in order to get the bill reconciled. Michael Taylor, the FDA's deputy commissioner for foods, says - we need legislation that will direct us and empower us to be proactive, not reactive. Taylor says - the legislation pending in Congress will open up entirely new and much more effective ways to do prevention.
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