FDA Gets New Food Safety Regulator

May 2007

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a new regulatory position created to police the safety of the nation’s food supply. David Acheson has been named the Assistant Commissioner for Food Protection amid more reports of melamine laced animal feed on United States farms.

The FDA disclosed that 3 million chickens from Indiana poultry farms may have consumed melamine, an industrial chemical, as part of their diet. No recall was issued for Indiana chickens that have already gone to slaughter, as they have most likely been processed and sold after eating the melamine tainted feed in February.

The animal feed was supplemented with grain based protein from China, where it is common practice to add melamine to artificially enhance protein content and sell raw product for a higher price. Melamine was discovered as the deadly agent in pet food that has killed about 4,000 animals in the US so far, according to an estimate of complaints logged by the FDA. The effects of melamine on humans are largely unknown.