Food Safety in the U.S.
Today is the UN’s World Food Safety Day, and we’re taking the opportunity to focus our conversation on food safety in the U.S. at a time when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) leadership across several administrations has come under increasing fire for putting more focus on medical and drug regulation without providing an equal level oversight to food safety.
Politico: The FDA’s Food Failure
Back in April, Politico released the results of its investigation into the FDA’s failure to meet American consumers’ expectations on food safety and nutrition – the culmination of interviews with more than 50 people, including current and former FDA officials. The report outlines the structural and cultural problems that made the food branch of the agency inefficient and ineffective.
The problems begin as high up as the organization’s mission, where the regulation of drugs and medical products is prioritized over the regulation of food. Some of the key structural issues mentioned in the report are that FDA’s commissioner does not have a Cabinet position and almost always comes from a medical background with little to no experience with food issues. The Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) is the food branch of the FDA has its own unique set of problems also outlined in the report, which is divided into five chapters:
Chapter 1: ‘It’s a structure that’s designed to fail’
Chapter 2: ‘A bit of a black hole’
Chapter 3: The rage of a million parents
Chapter 4: ‘Our food is making us sick’
Chapter 5: ‘They ignore everyone’
Read the full report here.
Politico: Whistleblower warned FDA about formula plant months before baby deaths
The previous report outlines how the FDA is inefficient, ineffective, and frankly just way too slow at responding to food safety threats. This article narrows in on the FDA’s poor handling of a whistleblower report from October 2021 regarding safety concerns at the Abbott Nutrition plant in Sturgis, Michigan (responsible for around a quarter of U.S. infant formula supply) that produced the infant formula that led to the death of two infants and hospitalization of another earlier this year. The formula wasn’t officially recalled until February 17th.
The Daily: What Really Caused the Baby Formula Shortage
In this podcast episode Michael Barbaro and Christina Jewett introduce us to the Cronobacter sakazakii bacteria, which can cause meningitis, sepsis, and an array of other developmental problems in babies. They take us all the way back to the early 2000s, when the FDA and baby formula corporations had their first tussle over a newly introduced FDA requirement for baby formula makers to start testing their product for the bacteria. “You often see with companies that the F.D.A. regulates, you have big moneyed companies that hire lobbyists that contribute politically to lawmakers. And there’s just always a tussle between the F.D.A. and industry.”
Learn more about how this earlier concern over the bacteria led to the shortages we’re today here.
New York Times: Lawmakers Grill F.D.A. Chief on Baby Formula Oversight Amid Shortages
In May, one day after President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to authorize the use of Defense Department planes to bring baby formula shipments from overseas, the head of the FDA Dr. Robert Califf appeared before the House during a budget hearing. Learn more about the commissioner’s responses to questioning from House members here.
Before the Cutting Board: The art of preservation
In the section titled “This Week: Keeping up to date on the latest in food safety” of Lindsey’s weekly newsletter she shares sources covering the foodborne illness outbreak in three major baby formula brands, the recall of over 120,000 ground beef products that are at risk of E.Coli contamination, and the growing outbreak of bird flu that is rattling poultry industries globally.
Before the Cutting Board: Food System in Retrograde
In the “This Week: Formula Shortage Intensifies” section of her newsletter, Lindsey shares resources from various sources that break down how the baby formula shortage got to the place it’s at today, how consolidated its supply chain has become (four companies control 89% of the entire US market), how the impact of the shortage is being felt by families, and more.