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FDA's Commissioner has departed from the President:
After being pummeled for weeks on Capitol Hill over the
president’s budget, Food and Drug Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach
has written Congress that the agency needs an immediate infusion of
$275 million to ensure that imported foods, drugs and medical devices
are safe. ...
Dr. von Eschenbach’s action surprised agency observers and was
taken as perhaps a sign of the president’s waning influence in the
closing months of his presidency.
“In 30 years at the agency, I never saw anything like this happen
before,” said William Hubbard, a former deputy F.D.A. commissioner.
The core point is this: The imported food and product
inspection system should be fully equivalent - in process and standards
- to the domestic system. Imports should not be favored with
token inspections and deceptive "harmonization" provisions in trade
agreements.
Since Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" revealed
horrible conditions in the nation's packing plants, the U.S. has worked
to improve its food safety system. The USDA and FDA have
increasingly tightened the safety regime domestically, though there are
many complaints.
When China devalued its currency by 40% in the
1990's, imports surged like never before. Imported food, drugs,
medical devices, toys, and everything else. Our regulators have
token representation at ports and other border crossing. 100
years of food and product safety were undone.
The tension
was growing. Pets made the difference in 2007, oddly.
Fluffy and Spot died from wheat gluten containing melamine that was in
their pet food last year. Pet owners were a force to be reckoned
with. The press paid attention. Then antifreeze in
toothpaste and cough syrup was reported. People died from
imported heparin injected into their bodies. Imported seafood
disclosures became frightening, as found by Food and Water Watch.
Mattel's imported toys were painted with lead based paint.
Congress held more than token hearings. Non-food safety issues
like shoddy imported steel gained more attention.
The Administration's official line was things are basically ok,
but we'll tighten things up a bit. The FDA Commissioner's letter shows
the power of this issue. The multinationals are powerful, but you
don't mess with things that people ingest or inject into their bodies.
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