On Tuesday, The head of the Food and Drug Administration announced to improve the agency’s food safety and nutrition division, vowing that a new structure will better protect consumers and the U.S. food supply.
FDA To Improve U.S. Food Supply (PHOTO: Yahoo News)
FDA To Improve Food Safety And Nutrition Division
Dr. Robert Califf, FDA Commissioner said that he would initiate a new human foods program led by a deputy commissioner with authority over policy, strategy, and regulatory activities for the part of the agency that oversees 80% of American food. Califf cited during an interview that these changes mark the most important in FDA history. This combines two existing FDA programs and some regulatory authorities. To eliminate redundancies and elevate the program, Califf will Tap a single leader to enable the agency to supervise human food more effectively and efficiently.
AP News stated that FDA has been criticized for several years for responding slowly to outbreaks in produce, heavy metals in baby food, and the need to lessen sodium in the U.S. diet, among other issues. Califf’s effort received mixed reviews from food safety advocates. Some say it was good, while others said Califf didn’t go far enough to dismantle ingrained structural issues. However, Mike Taylor, a former FDA deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine, said the new deputy doesn’t appear to have full authority over the office responsible for inspecting company plants, laboratory testing, imports, and investigations. Moreover, Taylor is in doubt about whether the new deputy commissioner would oversee the program’s funding too.
FDA’s Goal
The modifications seek to straighten out a convoluted leadership structure. The FDA oversees human and veterinary drugs and medical devices, along with most of the US food supply. The Agriculture Department also oversees some food products. Frank Yiannas, the FDA deputy commissioner for food policy and response, will resign next month. Director of the current Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Susan Mayne said that Califf requested her to stay through the change. According to Califf the new deputy, who will report directly to the commissioner, will be announced by spring.
The program will have a separate center focused on nutrition, including foods, and an office to coordinate state efforts to identify and prevent foodborne illness. It also calls for a new expert advisory committee to weigh food safety, nutrition, and new food technologies. Furthermore, the deputy commissioner will not oversee FDA’s veterinary medical center that’s because most centers’ work involves animal drugs and devices, not food Califf said. In addition, the animal feed industry worried that it would create a “subsidiary to human food,” Califf said. Mitzi Baum, president of the nonprofit STOP Foodborne Illness is disappointed because human foods, animal foods, and outbreaks are usually linked and should be part of the same program.
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