Toothless FDA is at the Root of Our Food Safety Problems

An Op-Ed in the Washington Post calls for more regulation to protect our food system. More regulation will not help.

The root of the problem, exemplified in the Peanut Corporation of America case, compares with the revolving-door-justice given to drunken drivers as they go through the legal system. They are continually allowed back on our roads until someone finally is killed due to their reckless irresponsibility.

In my opinion the last judge who set them free should be held responsible just as the bar tender who gave them the last drink is.

The FDA discovered that PCA shipped salmonella-tainted product 12 times in 2007 and 2008. PCA is the drunk driver in this case.

PCA was not required to report their positive findings to the FDA. Responsibility for this ‘oversight’ falls to the FDA. It is incumbent upon the FDA to ensure that no tainted food is released to the public. A few simple words on the part of FDA regulation would have prevented situation to escalate.

The FDA is supposed to be made up of a body of experts, hired to foresee any potential problem and regulate it out of existence. What we need to do is give the FDA some teeth and allow them to bring charges against any corporate or business entity that knowingly jeopardizes the public health or safety.

Why do we drag our feet on these blatant violations and then call for more of the same type of legislation that won’t get enforced. We do not need more regulation what we need is someone with the intestinal fortitude to punish these immoral characters for cocking a loading gun and aiming it at the general public.