Half of FDA Scientists Had Full Confidence In Egg Safety

The study, conducted before the salmonella recall by the Union of Concerned Scientists, asked FDA officials how confident they were in the agency's ability to protect consumers from food-borne illnesses.

August 26, 2010

WASHINGTON - Before the recent salmonella outbreak traced to eggs, only half of the scientists at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported having "full confidence" that their organization adequately safeguards consumers from food-borne illnesses in eggs, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The survey, conducted by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), has triggered an outpouring of reaction from watchdog groups.

"What is scary to me is that this is indicative of a much larger problem," said Francesca T. Grifo, director of the group's Scientific Integrity Program. "This is an agency in need of additional resources and authority, and I would add transparency to that list."

The survey's finding were released earlier this week as the FDA continues to search for the cause of the outbreak at two Iowa egg producers that has sickened hundreds and led to the recall of more than half a billion eggs.

FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said new egg safety rules that took effect July 9 were too late to help prevent the recent outbreak, but would "very likely" have allowed it to "head off" the outbreak.

The UCS polled 2,874 FDA scientists earlier this year, and 17 percent responded to an egg safety question €" a standard response rate for a study of that nature, according to Grifo.

The question read: "How confident are you that the (current food safety system) adequately protects the consumer from food-borne illness from the following foods?" In the case of eggs, half of the respondents said that they were "completely" or "mostly confident" in the results, and a quarter said there were "somewhat confident." Five percent reported "no confidence," while the rest responded that they didn't know.

Earlier this week, Hamburg asked Congress to pass pending legislation that would provide the agency with enhanced enforcement power

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