Food, Drugs and a Beleaguered Agency

Article in today’s Los Angeles Times — Food, Drugs and a Beleaguered Agency, by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar:

    The Food and Drug Administration has been in the spotlight lately because of
    problems in two of its most important areas of responsibility: making sure that
    the nation’s food supply is uncontaminated and that its prescription drugs are safe.

    The recent outbreak of E. coli infections linked to California-grown spinach has
    exposed weaknesses in federal food safety regulation.

    Separately, a blue-ribbon panel of the Institute of Medicine has found serious gaps
    in the way the FDA monitors prescription drugs to catch rare but potentially deadly
    side effects that come to light only after medications are on the market. The institute
    is part of the National Academies, which advise the government on scientific and
    technical issues.

BGS