A new report says the Food and Drug Administration is stretched thin and needs to reorganize to better keep the nation's food safe.
The report released by the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council Tuesday says the agency needs to become more efficient and better target its limited dollars to prevent foodborne illness outbreaks. The 500-page report says the FDA lacks the vision necessary to protect consumers.
Robert Wallace, chairman of the committee that authored the report, said the FDA is too often reactive and not focused enough on prevention. The report recommends the agency focus on preventing outbreaks in the riskiest foods rather than tackling problems on a case-by-case basis.
"As recent illnesses traced to produce underscore, foodborne diseases cause significant suffering, so it's imperative that our food safety system functions effectively at all levels," said Wallace, who is a professor at the University of Iowa's College of Public Health.
Many of the report's recommendations would be met under food safety legislation passed by the House last year. That includes giving the agency greater authority in many areas, such as the ability to force a company to recall a tainted product. Under current law, the agency must negotiate with busines
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