Food and Drug Administration

CFA Comments to FDA Expert Review Panel Stress Transparency, Accountability

CFA submitted the following comments to the Reagan-Udall Foundation, which U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf hired to commission an expert panel that is conducting a review of the agency’s regulatory and oversight processes related to the food system. As the comments explain, FDA’s effectiveness in safeguarding the food supply has been hampered by a lack of resources, a lack of transparency, and a lack of willingness to use the agency’s full authority to protect public health. The comments recommend that the food components of FDA be consolidated under a single deputy commissioner for food. The comments also identify ways in which the agency can boost transparency and more fully use its authority to protect public health.