THE RECALLS of products made with peanuts continue to grow. What began as a relatively small batch of recalls after an outbreak of salmonella has spread until it seems to touch upon every segment of the nation’s food processors.
The source of all this trouble is a peanut processing plant in Georgia, owned by Peanut Corp. of America. An inspection last month by the Food and Drug Administration found many problems at the plant and the company has issued a voluntary recall for its products, which include peanuts (dry and oil roasted), granulated peanuts, peanut meal, peanut butter and peanut paste.
Those products wind up in all kinds of food, from institutional products sold to schools and nursing homes to candy, granolas and pet food sold in stores across the country.
As the list of recalls grows longer, the only peanut products the FDA seems willing to give a clean bill of health are the top national brands of peanut butter — Peter Pan, Skippy and Jif and such. The makers of those brands process their own peanuts and manufacture their own peanut butter.
The FDA itself may not come out of the peanut scandal unscathed. Reports have begun to surface of agency ineffectiveness in identifying the problem and protecting the public. It is possible that the FDA had information months ago about contamination in products from the Georgia plant, but took no action.
On Monday morning, President Barack Obama said on the “Today” show that he will order a complete review of FDA operations.
“I think that the FDA has not been able to catch some of these things as quickly as I expect them to catch,” he said.
This is not the first time the effectiveness of the FDA has been challenged. The agency was criticized for its slowness in identifying the source of an E. coli outbreak several years ago. That was finally traced to a spinach field. A salmonella outbreak was traced — after many false leads — to peppers grown in Mexico.
The FDA has also been criticized for its drug-approval process — for being slow to approve needed drugs and for approving drugs that later have been identified as dangerous.
But the review of FDA operations should not be just another hunt for a scapegoat — it needs to point the way to improving the agency’s performance.
For the safety and peace of mind of the public, the review should include an evaluation of the laws under which the agency operates, to answer the following questions:
• What is the job of the FDA?
• Has it been given the authority it needs to do that job?
• Has it been given the resources necessary to effectively exercise its authority?
Answering those questions is as important to the health of the nation as tracking down this salmonella outbreak.
Patrick S. Kelley
Editorial Page Editor
hsr0601 (anonymous) says...
Scientific Approach Based On Evidence:
In that the FDA found evidence of salmonella at the Georgia plant, but
officials said earlier that it was a different strain from that of the
outbreak. close attention need to be paid to the other likely products,
based on the survey from the patients. Thanks.
February 3, 2009 at 8:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
"Peter Pan, Skippy and Jif and such." Why did you say "and such" ? Now you've opened a can of worms so to speak. What are those other brands? Is the Wal Mart Great Value brand one of those for example? Do one of those brands make Best Choice? Krogers...and such?
February 4, 2009 at 9:51 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )