Sun Editorial:

FDA needs more power

Lack of legal authority is undermining agency’s ability to protect nation’s food

Monday, July 6, 2009 | 2:08 a.m.

One hindrance to effective enforcement by the Food and Drug Administration is that, under existing law, companies don’t always have to turn over important records — even when FDA field inspectors request them.

This gap in enforcement has surfaced again, this time in the government’s investigation into a mysterious E. coli outbreak that involved cookie dough that has sickened nearly 70 people nationwide.

As the probe centered on a Nestle USA plant in Virginia, The Wall Street Journal reported June 26 that the company had refused a number of times in the past five years to grant FDA inspectors access to pest-control records, complaint logs and other documents.

The newspaper, citing reports released by the FDA in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, said that during a September 2006 visit, managers at Nestle’s Virginia plant would not let an FDA inspector look at consumer complaints or allow a review of its program that is supposed to prevent food contamination.

It wasn’t much better a year earlier, as an inspector listed in a report things Nestle officials wouldn’t let the FDA inspect: “Among these are the refusal to review the firm’s consumer complaint file, refusal to permit photography, refusal to sign affidavits or receipts and refusal to provide specific information on interstate commerce.”

The refusal by Nestle to grant full access to inspectors, according to the newspaper, is in line with others in the food industry. It is hardly comforting, however, that FDA inspectors would be denied access to such vital records at any food-processing plant.

A recent story in The Washington Post notes that Nestle has a “solid reputation within the food industry for manufacturing practices designed to prevent contamination.” The company says it is cooperating with the FDA’s investigation and voluntarily recalled nearly 300,000 cases of refrigerated raw cookie-dough products within a day of being told about the possible connection of its food to an E. coli outbreak.

Nonetheless, it is clear that our system of ensuring food safety in this country is broken. Congress needs to immediately pass pending legislation that would overhaul the nation’s food-safety system, require more frequent inspections of food processing plants and give the agency’s inspectors greater access to a company’s records.

Discussion: 9 comments so far…

By Future

7/6/09 at 5:51 a.m.

Suggest removal

"One hindrance to effective enforcement by the Food and Drug Administration is that" they do not run these companies.

If Obama could take over the food and Drug companies, unionize them and eliminate the profit then they would be like AIG, GM, Amtrack, post office, VA, and we could see the books.
By annienonymouse

7/6/09 at 7:05 a.m.

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Solution: set aside the time to make your own cookie dough from scratch. If you don't have the time, then you didn't really want cookies to begin with.
By Patrick_R_Gibbons

7/6/09 at 8:48 a.m.

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A stronger FDA monopoly on food and drug inspection means that new food products and drug products will take even longer to pass inspection. This isn't good for all those thousands upon thousands of people that would benefit from these foods and drugs. The effect is that the FDA, in its extreme caution, has allowed millions of Americans to suffer or die needlessly.
By neiman1

7/6/09 at 11:11 a.m.

Suggest removal

More government control and More Power for the bureaucracy, that is always a good answer.
By KillerB

7/6/09 at 11:15 a.m.

Suggest removal

"One hindrance to effective enforcement by the Food and Drug Administration is that, under existing law, companies don't always have to turn over important records -- even when FDA field inspectors request them."

Nestle's is just obeying the law. Put the blame where it belongs -- Congress. Seems they're too busy cranking out thousands of pages of new laws without paying attention to the effects their laws have on the rest of us.

That said, don't ignore the possibility the blame may also be with the FDA itself. The answer to that lies in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is within that agency's control. The usual step is to issue a subpoena -- or is the DOJ too busy going after our fellow citizens for flimsy drug and internet charges?

It's also a good possibility the Sun missed the real point -- these bureaucracies have become so bloated they're just blaming Nestle's for their own fumbling.
By foodwise

7/6/09 at 12:27 p.m.

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This case isn't about food safety, it's about eating raw, uncooked cookie dough. The directions clearly say to bake the cookies. Are we going to panic when someone eats raw chicken and falls ill?
By mred

7/6/09 at 5:30 p.m.

Suggest removal

We need a dual labeling/marking system. For the Vins and Sherms of this world --a food product, car, house, etc. will have a label that says "NO GOVERNMENT." There will be no government safety standards or inspections involved. Their cars will have no airbags, safety belts, collapsible steering columns, or crash ratings. Their food with have lead, mercury and insects in it, if the manufacturers deem it necessary.

Everything else will have normal inspection, safety and labeling on their products.
By castle

7/6/09 at 8:46 p.m.

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The best possible thing that could happen would be to remove any and all regulation and oversight of the food and drug industries. Put it back to the early 1900's like it was when the reasons for regulation first existed. We will solve a lot of complaining very quickly. Of course we may also have an overload in the hospital and funeral industries but "hey" that's just progress.
By lvsundog

7/7/09 at 12:44 a.m.

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The FDA supports big pharma. I think the FDA should be dismantled completely.