FDA ignores elephant in the room on produce inspections
It's like having a sore arm and cutting off your leg as treatment. That's what I'd call the FDA's latest push to beef up inspection on American – yes, you read that right, American -- produce.
The Government Accountability Office recently issued a report citing the FDA's inadequacy in inspections and enforcement, citing insufficient resources and staff, infrequent inspections and a failure to punish known violators.
In response, the FDA's commissioner for foods let loose a host of ideas for better inspecting American-grown produce. The FDA suggested following California's guidelines on leafy green vegetables; it talked about ways to keep cattle lots and their waste away from produce fields; it talked about a lot of things, except the one thing that made the most sense – how to protect us better from internationally grown produce.
I applaud the efforts (if legitimate efforts end up being made) to better inspect American produce. But are we really having this discussion a month after an outbreak linked to Mexican-grown produce spread like wildfire throughout the United States?
It's not like ignoring the elephant in the room. It's like ignoring a herd of elephants in the room.
It's clear that the FDA is wringing its hands over domestic produce because it's easier than wringing its hands over Mexican produce, which gets into messy areas of diplomacy. It's too bad politics is more important than keeping use safe.
Our federal government needs to show some spine. As I've told you before, the FDA is inspecting less than 1 percent of the produce coming into our country.
You know my whole position on this – grow your own food if you can. If not, buy organic produce from local farms and farmer's markets. Ultimately, we are responsible for keeping ourselves safe.
