The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to claim there is insufficient evidence about the health effects of a chemical widely used in consumer products to justify regulating the substance. Evidence is mounting from a variety of other sources, however, that bisphenol-A (BPA) may affect human development and mental health. FDA continues to advise consumers that there is no reason to "discontinue using products that contain BPA."

Federal officials are having difficulty providing consumers with information on two recent food-borne illness outbreaks. Investigators are still searching for the source of an ongoing salmonella outbreak, and officials have been unable to provide detailed information for consumers on a batch of E. coli-contaminated beef, which has spread to a number of states across the country.

The federal regulator of meat, poultry, and egg products, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), faces resource limitations that make it more difficult for the agency to ensure the safety of the food supply. Although the agency's budget has risen since it was created, staffing levels have dropped steadily. Widespread vacancies in the agency have spread FSIS's inspection force too thin. Meanwhile, the number of meat, poultry, and egg product recalls has risen, and a recent recall of 143 million pounds of beef is the largest in the nation's history.

In 2007, new regulatory policies and the inability of federal agencies to protect the public made headlines more so than at any time in recent memory. Four themes dominated regulatory policy this year: an increase in White House influence over agency rulemaking activity and discretion, which added a perception of more political manipulation; the inability of the federal government to protect the public by ensuring the safety of imported goods; the voice of some industry groups calling for regulation; and the Bush administration's refusal to regulate in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence, as in the case of climate change. At best, government has attempted to respond to crises instead of getting ahead of the curve. This has left the public uncertain about whether we can count on our government to provide adequate safeguards.