The Food and Drug Administration, otherwise known as the FDA, is putting its incompetence and smug nonchalance on display this week in their lack of a response to the tomato salmonella outbreak. Even Lou Dobbs did a segment dedicated to the FDA's failure to inform the public where the tainted tomatoes are coming from.
Last weekend, a friend of mine who owns a produce wholesale distributing business, told me he sat down with this staff last week and traced all their tomato shipments currently in stock to its country of origin in about a hour. Wouldn't it have been nice for him to be able to simply scan one of the boxes the tomatoes were packed in, or the invoice, and have him immediately reassure his customers that his tomatoes were safe? Or that they should throw them away?
Country of origin labeling should not be a partisan issue. It should be one that we should all get behind. So who, or what, is prohibiting that from happening? You guessed it. The FDA.
Out of more than 40 congressional recommendations for food safety improvements over the last seven years, including a food of origin labeling system, the FDA has implemented only seven. The breadth and depth of FDA failures are staggering, including situations involving collaboration with drug companies, failing to warn the public when their health is at risk, and shortages of flu vaccines.
The FDA is a place where whistleblowers risk losing their careers, and/or their credibility.
At what point can Congress step in and clean house at the FDA in the interest of public safety? In my opinion, we can't wait for Bush to leave office to rectify this situation.
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