FDA unable to keep up with scientific advances

[flashl]

FDA science dearth puts public health at risk

Lives are at risk because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is woefully behind in the latest scientific advances and is under funded, a panel of advisers to the agency said at a public meeting on Monday.

Inadequate staffing, poor retention, out-of-date technology and a lack of resources mar the FDA's ability, the report by a subcommittee of the agency's Science Board said.

(A copy of the 60-page report, FDA Science and Mission at Risk)

"FDA's inability to keep up with scientific advances means that American lives are at risk," the report said.

... snip ...

The U.S. Congress passed more than 100 laws expanding the FDA's authority since 1988, but has not increased the funding appropriately, the report found.

Read More ...

[NC_Nurse]

1. The European Union has taken the lead on consumer safety.

The FDA and USDA are becoming irrelevant. Between lack of funding and corporate/political influence, they have lost a LOT of credidblity.

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

2. That's 'cause TRILLIONS are being spent on KILLING PEOPLE.

Or torturing them or occupying them or creating NEW NUKES that will kill more of them or microwave shit or HUGE DATA MINING crap.

It's so much more important to enrich the killers than protect people from poisons and stuff.

[magellan]

3. Underfund and understaff it to make it ineffective

...then, when people lose confidence in it and call it a waste of tax dollars, privatize it.

[porphyrian]

4. Regulation and oversight are bad for corporations, and that's who the government represents.

A few terms later, regulatory agencies are gutted and we're being killed by the medication that's supposed to save us and our babies get toys with lead paint. See how that's good for the economy?

[KoKo]

5. Consumer Revolution that managed to thrive during Carter through Reagan

died in the last years of Clinton's Administration for lack of support.

It's time we had a NEW CONSUMER REVOLUTION where we support Consumer Reports and any other groups who will Independently TEST all those Imports that could be Killing Americans due to these TRADE DEALS!

[flashl]

6. Exactly

My DU post Consumer Protection

The state of consumer protection in America is abysmal. Competing by cheating seems to be the rule of the land, with thousands of companies acting as if there are no laws and demonstrating no fear that misleading or harming consumers puts them at any risk for penalties.

To know why, simply look at the roster of players assembled to fight on our behalf. The agencies charged with making America fair and safe have been undercut and underfunded for decades. It's as if we're asking a minor-league baseball team to play the New York Yankees on our behalf, only this is no game. The consequences of weakened consumer protection can literally be life and death.

You may have heard the curious story this week of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is supposed to make sure thousands of everyday consumer products don't pose unnecessary dangers. Given the spate of recent high-profile recalls, Congress has just discovered there's too much work for the agency's paltry staff of 400, and is now considering a law to beef up its work force Curiously, the commission's chairwoman, Bush administration appointee Nancy Nord, opposes the increase. Could this be: A government bureaucrat rejecting more resources? Many observers were shocked.

They shouldn't be. Since the 1980s, all federal consumer protection agencies have been bled dry. And many of their politically appointed leaders have actually worked to hamstring their organizations to ensure they don’t interfere with companies trying to make a buck.

Consider this: In the 1970s, when the Consumer Product Safety Commission was created, it had a staff of 900. Today, it’s fewer than half that. At a time of unprecedented growth in world imports, and unprecedented product recalls, the commission's staff has never been smaller.

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