FDA to Ensure Food and Drug Safety with Extra Money

June 2008

Amid a rash of food poisoning scares, including the recent outbreak of salmonella from tomatoes, a group of advisors to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has concluded that lives are in danger because the FDA has been underfunded. As a result, the Bush administration asked Congress to give the FDA an extra $275 million in its budget for next year to improve the agency's ability to ensure the safety of the nation's food and drugs.

The added money will allow the FDA to open headquarters in China, India, and Central America and to hire an additional 490 people. The money will also allow the FDA to provide more inspections of food and medical products.

There has been a wide gap between the government's proposals to help the FDA and its ability to pay or plan for them. These shortcomings have led to the spread of dangerous food poisoning outbreaks. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 23 people have been hospitalized and over 160 people have fallen ill as a result of the latest salmonella food poisoning outbreak.