The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is shifting the main focus of its food-safety efforts toward prevention, rather than reacting to crises after they occur, top FDA officials recently told representatives of the media and Atlanta-area universities.
“Our new guidelines will bring about better, stronger standards for food safety and help us ensure a safer supply of food for Americans,” FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said. The new approach should also help prevent some of the panic and misinformation that spreads when a food-source contamination is discovered, said Joshua Sharfstein, principal deputy commissioner of the FDA.
Sharfstein said proposed new guidelines will provide a guide for food growers and processors to follow so that their produce will face less of a risk of contamination.
Opposition to the new guidelines in Congress has been minimal so far, he said.
On another issue, Hamburg and Sharfstein said that electronic cigarettes – smokeless devices that deliver nicotine to users – may be as harmful as cigarettes. So far, the FDA has blocked some shipments of the devices at the border, but its efforts to prevent sales in the United States are being stalled by a court case in which a manufacturer contends that the FDA does not have regulatory authority over the devices.
Sharfstein said that FDA tests have found the devices contain carcinogens and toxic chemicals such as diethylene glycol, which is used in antifreeze. Manufacturers say the products have fewer harmful ingredients than are found in cigarettes.
Responding to a question about swine flu, Sharfstein said the FDA continues to monitor the development process of a vaccine that will effectively treat H1N1, the strain known commonly as swine flu. Hamburg said the FDA also wants to remind Americans that no vaccine can protect 100 percent against disease, and that all other preventative measures should be followed.
Good.
ReplyDelete