Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the agency has sought an external review of its approach to food safety. The surprising announcement, issued by FDA commissioner Dr. Robert Califf, says the review will look primarily at work carried out by the FDA's Office of Food Response and Policy (OFPR) and Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN).
In his announcement, Califf stresses that America's food supply is safe. But he also notes issues with the agency's food-safety inspection regime and says "the increasing diversity and complexity of the nation's food systems and supply chain" have raised fundamental "questions about the structure, function, funding[,] and leadership" of the FDA.
