Obama: Food safety system a health 'hazard'

[Guest guest]

http://news.aol.com/health/article/obama-food-safety-system-a-health-hazard/3825\

41?cid=14

WASHINGTON -The

nation's food safety system is a " hazard to public health " and overdue

for an overhaul, President Barack Obama said Saturday as he filled the

top job at the Food and Drug Administration.

Obama used his

weekly radio and video address to announce the nomination of former New

York City Health Commissioner Margaret Hamburg as agency commissioner

and the selection of Baltimore's health commissioner, Sharfstein

as her deputy. Consumer groups applauded the picks.

The president also

is creating a special advisory group to coordinate food safety laws and

recommend how to update them. Many of these laws have not changed since

they were written early in the last century, he said.

Obama said too many

agencies are responsible for food safety, making it difficult to share

information and stop problems from falling through the cracks.

The FDA does not

have enough money or workers to conduct annual inspections at more than

a fraction of the 150,000 food processing plants and warehouses in the

country, Obama said.

" That is a hazard to

public health. It is unacceptable. And it will change under the

leadership of Dr. Margaret Hamburg, " he pledged.

Hamburg, 53, is a

bioterrorism expert. She was an assistant health secretary under

President Bill Clinton and helped lay the groundwork for the

government's bioterrorism and flu pandemic preparations.

As New York City's

top health official in the early 1990s, she c

reated a program that cut

high rates of drug-resistant tuberculosis. She is the daughter of two

doctors. Her mother was the first black woman to earn a medical degree

from Yale University, and she credits her father for instilling in her

a passion for public health.

Sharfstein, 39, is a

pediatrician who has challenged the FDA on the safety of

over-the-counter cold medicines for children. He also served as a

health policy aide to Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who plays a leading

role in overseeing the pharmaceutical industry.

Both are doctors and outsiders to the troubled agency and will face the

challenge of trying to turn it around.

Those with a stake

in the FDA's work, from health and consumer groups to the food and drug

industries, said Obama made good choices.

The Trust for America's Health said Hamburg is a proven manager who turned

around the ailing health department in New York City.

" She restored both

morale among workers and the agency's credibility among citizens, " said

Lowell Weicker Jr., a former Connecticut senator and president of the

trust's board. " And she has shown she can reach across party lines,

having worked for both Democratic and Republican mayors in New York

City. "

Gail Cassell, an

Eli Lilly & Co. vice president who once served on a government

advisory board with Hamburg, said Hamburg " is a big believer " in

backing up policy with the best scientific evidence and data.

" She is very

balanced and thoughtful about the actions that she takes and certainly

has

had the experience of running a very complex organization, " Cassell

said.

Ellen Bloom of

Consumers Union said Sharfstein's experience is " just what the doctor

ordered for FDA, " and Carol Tucker Foreman of Consumer Federation of

America said, " Their resumes are extremely impressive. "

The main food industry group said Obama seems committed to overhauling the

agency.

" The president's

appointment of these two prominent public health professionals is a

clear signal that this administration has placed a priority on

bolstering FDA's food safety role, " said Pamela , president and

chief executive of the Grocery Manufacturers Association.

Hamburg's appointment requires Senate confirmation; Sharfstein's does not.

Obama said while he

doesn't believe government has the answer to every problem, there are

certain things that only government can do such as " ensuring that the

foods we eat and the medicines we take are safe and don't cause us

harm. "

" Protecting the safety of our food and drugs is one of the most fundamental

responsibilities government has, " he said.

Obama cited a

string of breakdowns in assuring food safety in recent years, from

contaminated spinach in 2006 to salmonella in peppers and possibly

tomatoes last year. This year, a massive salmonella outbreak in peanut

products has sickened more than 600 people, is suspected of causing

nine deaths and led to one of the largest product recalls in U.S.

history.

These cases are a

" painful reminder of how tragic the consequences can be when food

pro

ducers act irresponsibly and government is unable to do its job, "

Obama said, noting that contaminated food outbreaks have more than

tripled to nearly 350 a year from 100 incidents annually in the early

1990s.

Separately, Obama

announced a ban on the slaughter of " downer " cows, which are too sick

or weak to stand on their own, to keep them out of the food supply.

These animals pose a higher risk of having mad cow disease, E. coli and

other infections.

Obama said he takes food safety seriously, not just as a president but also as

the parent of two young daughters.

" No parent should have to worry that their child is going to get sick from their

lunch, " he said.

Also awaiting the

next FDA chief is a renewed effort in Congress to require government

regulation of cigarettes and other tobacco products, to reduce the harm

from smoking.

—

Associated Press writers Alonso-Zaldivar, Clare Jalonick and n

Neergaard contributed to this report.

The Laws of Ecology: " All things are interconnected. Everything goes

somewhere. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Nature bats last. "

Ernest Callenbach

" Disease is the retribution of outraged nature. "

Hosea Ballou

" Some remedies are worse than the disease. "

Pubilius Syrus