U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, sent a letter to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert M. Califf urging answers and immediate action following a Politico report that lays bare a culture of delay and inaction in the agency’s food safety and nutrition center, which has endangered families’ health and safety.
“I am deeply concerned about a new report into longstanding, significant delays and dysfunction across food safety efforts at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,” wrote Senator Murray. “Americans rely on the FDA to ensure the food they are eating and feeding their families is safe. The FDA’s failure over decades to regulate and enforce food safety standards, on issues ranging from bacteria in vegetables to arsenic in baby food, has put the health of Americans at risk. I am calling on you to make these issues a priority and take immediate action to ensure the FDA is doing all it can to fulfill all aspects of its mission to protect the health and safety of the American people.”
In the letter, Senator Murray made clear that Politico’s recent reporting—which revealed harmful delays and inaction on critical issues like contaminated infant formula, heavy metals in baby food, and pathogens found in produce—are deeply concerning to her, and called on the FDA to take immediate action to ensure the agency does all it can to fulfill its mission to ensure the safety of our food supply. She highlighted how the agency’s failure to ensure timely inspections and recalls—among other key regulatory steps that have been delayed—have direct impacts on children and families, and noted that already this year she has sought answers from Abbott Nutrition and the FDA regarding potential bacterial contamination of Abbott’s infant formula, which has been associated with multiple hospitalizations and deaths. The FDA first received a report of these issues in September 2021 but failed to initiate an inspection of the manufacturing plant until January, before a voluntary recall in February.
“You have the opportunity to address these longstanding issues and reform the way FDA handles these longstanding food safety and nutrition issues. During your confirmation hearing, you committed to me you would ‘hit the ground running’ and prioritize consumer and patient protection issues,” continued Senator Murray. “I am calling on you to fulfill that promise and take immediate action to ensure the FDA’s food safety efforts are robust, timely, and effective in keeping the American people healthy and safe.”
In Monday’s letter, Senator Murray requests information about what steps will be taken to improve the FDA’s food safety efforts, why regulatory actions have been delayed, how often the agency has conducted inspections in the last decade, and more. During a recent hearing on the FDA, Senator Murray made clear that business as usual at the FDA was not working—and this latest report shows exactly why. This letter follows a statement issued by Senator Murray on the reporting, where she made clear that: “It’s unacceptable that the agency has spent so long spinning their wheels when it comes to issues as important to families as the food they eat and feed their loved ones. I am going to be pressing for answers from FDA leadership on how they will fix this, and holding them accountable for doing so as quickly as possible.”
Original source can be found here.
