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News & Analysis | REG•WATCH Blog | Press Room
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Cuts at FDA Jeopardize Stomachs, Security
Amid high profile food safety crises such as the spinach contamination of 2006 and recent salmonella tainted peanut butter, the FDA has been reducing its commitment to food safety, according to an Associated Press article.
- There are 12 percent fewer FDA employees in field offices who concentrate on food issues.
- Safety tests for U.S.-produced food have dropped nearly 75 percent, from 9,748 in 2003 to 2,455 last year, according to the agency's own statistics.
The article also reminds us food safety is a legitimate homeland security concern: After the Sept. 11 attacks, the FDA, at the urging of Congress, increased the number of food inspectors and inspections amid fears that the nation's food system was vulnerable to terrorists. Inspectors and inspections spiked in 2003, but now both have fallen enough to erase the gains.
One wonders if the pullout of FDA employees has emboldened the enemy.
Posted by Matt Madia
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