Prevention Matters

President Obama has proposed adding 404 full-time staff members to work on food inspection at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). David W.K. Acheson, associate commissioner for foods, told a congressional committee that it would be a “retrograde step for public health” if food inspection responsibility was removed from the FDA. Consumer advocacy groups long have complained that federal government attempts to track and regulate food safety are lacking and dispersed among too many agencies, including both the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).