Step One: The Review

As many of you know, I am a vocal critic of the FDA. I feel the agency has failed us, time and time again. The BPA fiasco is only one example. The outrageous failures regarding the salmonella outbreak from the peanut factory in Georgia is another. Some of this has to do with blatant scientific interference and incompetence; some of it has to do with the fact that the FDA is hamstrung by idiotic rules. Example: the FDA could not compell the Georgia factory to send its salmonella-positive results, nor could it compell a mandatory recall of the contaminated peanut butter and paste that sickened hundreds and killed--killed--eight people. And of course a large portion of its failure to "catch" things is directly linked to the budget slash-fest courtesy of former president Bush.

You also know that I advocate pressuring agencies and corporations to shape up. I took some of my own advice two weeks ago and wrote in to the Obama Administration, having heard that the administration actually does read the letters it receives from the public. In fact, I read that Obama receives two binders every morning: one containing important security and policy information, and one containing letters from the public. I don't know if this is true. But on the off chance it was, I felt I had to chime in about the FDA and ask Obama to consider completely reworking it.

Then, this week, this news: President Obama has ordered a full review of the workings of the FDA. In an interview this week, Obama said, the FDA had been marked by “instances over the last several years” in which “the FDA has not been able to catch some of these things as quickly as I expect them to catch.” Of course, being the even-tempered, cool-headed man that he is, his words are measured. I would have been far harsher. But then that's why I'm writing this blog and am not running the country! He continued: “At bare minimum, we should be able to count on our government keeping our kids safe when they eat peanut butter."

And, finally, in words I have been longing to hear for years: "We are going to make sure that we retool the FDA, that it’s operating in a highly professional fashion and, most importantly, that we prevent these things, as opposed to trying to catch them after they’ve already occurred.” I hope President Obama will add to that agenda that scientific interference and industry interference in science will also be on the table for examination.