In a long-form story, Modern Farmer describes the evolution of food safety operations at FDA. “Over the last century, there’d been a shift toward large, centralized food distribution systems. With that came a heightened potential for quick-moving, far-reaching disease,” says Modern Farmer. The story notes the difficulty of policing multinational companies and foodmakers whose products rarely leave town. There is more public sympathy for the local producer.
The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 is the single most important advance in food regulation in a century, deputy FDA commissioner Michael Taylor tells the magazine. FDA is still working on implementation of the law. “No longer consigned to a reactive role — rooting out the cause after food is contaminated — the FDA will now turn its focus on prevention,” it says but notes FDA says it needs more funding to do the job.