FDA needs major reconstruction, officials suggest

Rockville, November 26: In the wake of melamine scare of Chinese milk products, United States officials have urged the new Barack Obama administration to do a major reconstruction of the Food and Drug Administration, an agency responsible for the safety regulation of most types of food, dietary supplements and other drugs.

As the Bush administration comes to an end on January 20, 2009, the Obama administration will inherit the said agency. Officials see FDA as having a tough time protecting the nation against contaminated and unsafe food and medication.

Officials and concerned groups want FDA to have strong leadership, money, technology and personnel to prevent unwarranted entry of dangerous drug and food.

David A. Kessler, FDA commissioner under the terms of Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, said "Everywhere you go, you hear the same chorus: The agency's in trouble." He also confirmed that the agency is “suffering mightily”.

FDA, having 11,000 employees, receives an annual budget of more than $2 billion. The agency is tasked to supervise products that account for one-quarter of consumer spending in the country such as food, over-the-counter and prescription medications, blood supply and other medical devices.

Controversies however continue to haunt the agency as its credibility has reached the bottom. The agency is being accused of its incompetence and ideological bias as it favors more the industry rather than consumers. William K. Hubbard, an FDA official for 27 years said that “FDA is close to being at a tipping point—the agency is hanging on by its fingertips in protecting us.”

"If something is not done, they could become a failed institution, and no one wants that. The FDA is not only important to protecting the public health but also to the industries it regulates," he continued.

Other controversies and issues that include FDA are the discovery of the highly publicized painkiller Vioxx which is found to cause heart attacks. Avandria, a diabetes medication and other psychiatric drugs also became controversial due to safety issues.

Drugs and medications aside, there is also an escalating alarm on the agency’s ability to regulate food supply. There has been a recent outbreak of E. coli infection found in spinach and salmonella.

Food and drugs are FDA’s responsibilities. But because of the recent outbreaks and safety issues, officials and groups believe that the agency is incompetent of monitoring goods such as food, drugs and other raw materials that are entering the United States. These concerns were even triggered by contaminated toothpastes from China. Also, tainted petdefine foods have killed hundreds of cats and dogs.

With all these, many hope that the new Obama administration will name a new FDA commissioner who can properly supervise the agency and protect Americans from food outbreaks.

Hubbard concludes that "the FDA can't be left to drift. There's a lack of leadership when a caretaker is in charge, and the FDA can't afford that."