FDA needs to beef up resources

John Dimsdale Dec 4, 2007
HTML EMBED:
COPY

FDA needs to beef up resources

John Dimsdale Dec 4, 2007
HTML EMBED:
COPY

TEXT OF STORY

Scott Jagow: The Food and Drug Administration is a pretty important agency, wouldn’t you say? It has seemed all the more important lately. But a panel of experts says the FDA is in rough shape. It doesn’t have enough resources.

Today, the Senate will take up this issue. More from John Dimsdale.


John Dimsdale: Drug recalls and food scares raised questions about the FDA’s ability to regulate a growing number of products.

William Hubbard: The FDA has actually lost about a thousand people in the last three years. So something needs to change or the agency will continue to go downhill.

William Hubbard is a former associate FDA commissioner. He thinks Congress should double the agency’s budget for inspecting food.

Hubbard: Mexico last year, after the spinach outbreaks in California, announced it was going to consider banning the importation to Mexico of American fruits and vegetables. If that kind of thought process takes hold around the world, our food industry is in tremendous jeopardy.

Sixty percent of the fresh fruit and vegetables Americans eat comes from overseas. The Senate Health Committee today considers legislation giving the FDA more resources to inspect and block contaminated food imports.

In Washington, I’m John Dimsdale for Marketplace.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.