Melamine in the American Food Chain

The recent news of melamine includes the death of countless number of family pets when the food supply was contaminated. In the past months, there have been reports of melamine in the milk supply in China. Some deaths have been reported. Now there is a evidence of melamine in American infant formula:

Read the rest of this entry »

The Food and Drug Administration Opens Foreign Offices

It would be unusual now to have only domestic product in your kitchen or in your medicine cabinet. There will be imported products present and these consumable may be produced under far different regulatory standards than what is considered normal in the United States. To increase its efficiency in monitoring the safety and standards of these foreign imports, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is opening offices overseas:

Read the rest of this entry »

The Food and Drug Administration Trounced Again

We assume that our food is safe. When we are at the supermarket, few thoughts are given to whether that purchase is safe to eat. Our assumption - perhaps mistakenly - is that there are protections in place to safeguard the public. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is entrusted with that mandate to protect the consumer from unsafe products.

It is evident, through the recent pet food disaster and regular product recalls, that the FDA is stressed to fulfill its role:

“WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Preparations for a biological attack and repeated outbreaks of food poisoning have interfered with efforts by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to improve the safety of fresh produce, according to a report released on Friday.

The agency is also unclear on what it plans to do to shape up, the Government Accountability Office said.”

link: FDA faulted for produce oversight

This is not the first time that the FDA has been so severely criticized. In 2007, for example, a report cited that American lives were at risk from the FDA being understaffed and underfunded. It does not seem to be a political imperative to resolve this problem. This is not a ‘hot issue’ on the presidential campaign trail. However, the present contaminated milk disaster in China is an indication of the chaos from just one unsafe, contaminated product. Thousands of children are sick; some have died. In the United States, the FDA cannot do its job adequately; and government officials are focused elsewhere.

Catherine Forsythe

Food and Drug Administration Warns on Chinese Coffee

The Food and Drug Administration has warmed on contaminated instant coffee from China:

“…U.S. regulators warned the public on Friday not to consume seven Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea products that were made in China, because of concerns they may be contaminated with melamine.”

link: US FDA warns about instant coffee made in China

The contaminated milk has caused nearly 10,000 additional illnesses in children. The number of children who have suffered from this contamination may exceed sixty thousand now. It is exactly such security issue concerning the safety of food products that necessitate that the Food and Drug Administration have additional funding and staffing. The dangers are simply too real.

Catherine Forsythe

Number of Children Sick from Tainted Milk Exceeds 6,000

In China, the number of children who are ill from contaminated milk powder continues to increase:

“A third infant has died in China after drinking contaminated baby milk powder and more than 6,200 are ill, the country’s health minister said today.

The number of children suffering after being fed products tainted with melamine, a chemical used in plastics that can help to disguise the fact that milk has been diluted, is five times higher than authorities anticipated and is expected to continue rising.”

link: Chinese tainted milk powder leaves 6,200 children ill

As the election cycle draws to a close, both Senator McCain and Senator Obama are advocating fiscal responsibility and controlled government spending. One agency that requires additional funding and additional staffing is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

A report filed in December of 2007 gave the FDA a failing grade. “The report uncovered failures at every turn. The most glaring is that the FDA lost 600 inspectors in the past four years, making the agency unable to protect the country’s food supply. And the FDA’s responsibilities have grown, rendering the agency ineffective.” It is not inconceivable that such a diaster can happen to the American food supply. Last year, thousands of households lost pets because of the contamination in the pet food supply. Presently, the FDA cannot fulfill its mandate of protecting the American food supply. It is a harsh reality that the next administration will have to address - hopefully not as a consequence of tragedy.

Catherine Forsythe

The FDA Posts Problem Drugs Online

One of the problems and threats to consumers is the speed at which improperly placed drugs are regulated. It may take almost a year to have a drug, in the marketplace, regulated. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken some initial steps to speed up action on safety issues:

“The government on Friday began posting a list of prescription drugs under investigation for potential safety problems in an effort to better inform doctors and patients.

The first list is a bare-bones compilation naming 20 medications and the potential issue for each…”

link: FDA Posts List of Potential Problem Drugs

It is a way that consumers can be pro-active and check their medication. Kudos to the FDA for this initial step in public education and utilizing the reach of the internet.

Catherine Forsythe

The FDA and Unsafe Medication

When a medication prescription is written, the assumption is that the drug will be something that helps. It is assumed that there are safeguards to protect the public from unsafe medication. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is mandated to protect the public from unsafe consumables, including medication.

It will be a shock to many people that when a medication is improperly placed in the market place, it may take almost a year to have that drug regulated:

“…When federal regulators catch a drug company peddling prescription drugs for an unapproved use, it takes them an average of seven months to issue a warning, according to a draft report by congressional investigators. It typically takes four more months for the company to fix the problem. During that time, a lot prescriptions can be written.”

link: GAO says agency moves too slowly

The number of people who could be exposed to an improper medication could number in the millions. This is another example of the FDA being improperly funded or staffed to insure that the public is provided with basic security regulation. This was shown in the pet food fiasco and the tomatoes / salmonella warning, as just two recent examples.

It is frightening that many people could be taking improper medication for almost a year - and the FDA knows about the problem.

Catherine Forsythe