The Powerless FDA

Regarding the recent spectacle that’s come to light about the Nestle Corporation refusing to provide pest control records, complaint logs or production records to the FDA after an e-coli outbreak was traced back to their prepackaged cookie dough; one has to scratch their head and wonder, “what’s wrong with this picture”? Apparently, quite a lot. Nestle reports that they were merely doing what was within their rights under the law and standards within the food industry. The FDA states that “companies have the right to make conditions on what they will or will not permit during an inspection.” What? Do you suppose that would fly with the IRS, “these are the records you can and can’t look at during my audit”? How utterly absurd that our nation’s Food and Drug Administration, the agency that is responsible for regulating and supervising the safety of America’s food and protecting public health is in essence impotent when it comes to having the power needed to prevent a public health tragedy before it actually happens.