Must Read DKos FDA Diary

Quick link to great diary about how our President is reviving the FDA. Maybe now we can eat spinach or jalepenos or take medicine without seeing it on a lawyer's tv ad 6 months later...

In February 2009, he also called for a full review of all departments at the FDA.

In March, he appointed two esteemed professionals--Margaret Hamburg and Joshua Sharfstein--as commissioner and principal deputy commisioner of the FDA and announced establishment of the Food Safety Working Group to meet regularly with cabinet officials and help advise the president on food safety issues and needs of the department.

These were clearly steps in the right direction. Since taking over, Hamburg's FDA has conducted several raids of manufacturers of items like soaps and food products, closing the companies down for poor sanitation and, in some cases, prosecuting owners. A maker of tuna salad sandwiches was closed after:

Recent FDA inspections found evidence of widespread and active rodent and insect infestation, filthy conditions, and poor employee practices, such as allowing food-processing utensils to lie on the floor near live insects.