Peanut butter panic and the petition that could save you
The peanut butter fiasco puts one more nail in the FDA’s already tightly sealed coffin.
By now, you’re probably sick of the whole “peanut butter scandal” (though hopefully not literally). But, for once, I have to admit I’m glad the media is beating a dead horse. Because, this time, that horse is the FDA. And where all the botched drug approvals and murky financial ties have fallen short in sparking the sort of public outrage you’d expect, the peanut butter fiasco has finally made everyone well aware of just how inept the agency really is.
Of course, it didn’t come as a surprise to those of us who have been listening to what Dr. Wright has been saying about the FDA for years. In fact, just seven months ago, in the August 2008 issue of Nutrition & Healing, he wrote an article talking about a recent report released by the FDA, in which it freely admitted that it’s sleeping on the job. Unfortunately, the media didn’t pay any attention to THIS scandal, so here are a few quotes from that report, titled “FDA Science and Mission at Risk: Report of the Subcommittee on Science and Technology.”
1) The FDA cannot fulfill its mission because its scientific base has eroded and its scientific organizational structure is weak.
2) The FDA cannot fulfill its mission because its scientific workforce does not have sufficient capacity and capability.
3) The FDA cannot fulfill its mission because its information technology (IT) infrastructure is inadequate.
4) FDA does not have the capacity to ensure the safety of food for the nation.
5) The development of medical products based on “new science” cannot be adequately regulated by the FDA.
6) There is insufficient capacity in modeling risk assessment and analysis.
7) The FDA science agenda lacks a coherent structure and vision, as well as effective coordination and prioritization.
8) The FDA has substantial recruitment and retention challenges.
9) The FDA has an inadequate and ineffective program for scientist performance.
10) The FDA has not taken sufficient advantage of external and internal collaborations.
11) The FDA lacks the information science capability and information infrastructure to fulfill is regulatory mandate.
12) The FDA cannot provide the information infrastructure support to regulate products based on new science.
Perhaps #4 should have served as a warning that something like the current peanut butter debacle was bound to happen — sooner rather than later.
But my point is, let’s not wait around for another one of the items on this list to become a horrible, deadly reality.
Please visit www.reformFDA.org to read much more about the reform effort being led by some of the key organizations in natural health, including the American Association for Health Freedom and the Life Extension Foundation. And please consider signing the petition! Making your voice heard could mean all the difference in preventing the next FDA “scandal.”
