Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the creation of the deputy commissioner for food because for many decades, the agency’s focus has been drug-dominated.

The FDA last week also sent a signal that it is concerned about BPA, which is part of the chemical composition of plastic bottles and food containers. BPA got a pass in 2008 but since then, new findings prompted second thoughts.

The safety of the food chain and all parts of the delivery system which brings food to you needs careful attention.

The number of imported goods, while exciting, needs tracking but so do domestically-produced goods.

Public health should be the focus of all FDA activities so expect more developments from an agency which long has been under-funded, over-mandated and, in general, with a mission larger than it could manage.

The New York Times

“In a shift of position, the Food and Drug Administration is expressing concerns about possible health risks from bisphenol-A, or BPA, a widely used component of plastic bottles and food packaging that it declared safe in 2008.

“The agency said Friday that it had “some concern about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children,” and would join other federal health agencies in studying the chemical in both animals and humans.

“The action is another example of the drug agency under the Obama administration becoming far more aggressive in taking hard looks at what it sees as threats to public health. In recent months, the agency has stepped up its oversight of food safety and has promised to tighten approval standards for medical devices.”

Source: Washington Post, January 14, 2010

Source: New York Times, January 15, 2010