Where Have All the New Rules Gone?

An editorial published in The New York Times over the weekend describes the trend – a matter of serious concern in the public interest community – of public protections being put on hold, due in large part to industry interference:

It has been 19 months since President Obama signed into law the Food Safety Modernization Act, the first overhaul of the Food and Drug Administration’s food safety laws since the 1930s. But if you think the food supply has become markedly safer since then, think again.

The F.D.A. rules needed to carry out the law are still held up as a review by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget [OMB] enters its eighth month… Read more.
It seems that when industry objects to proposed safeguards, they frequently stall out. In addition to the FDA rules, several standards aimed at improving environmental conditions and protecting the public from dangerous toxins have been repeatedly postponed. These are just a few examples of the many safeguards that are stuck in the review process.
 
One of the essential roles of government is to protect the public, and to do so, agencies must be allowed to move forward on standards that will help ensure safe food and a healthy environment for all Americans.
 
Image in teaser by flickr user Alexander Boden, used under a Creative Commons license
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