3 ms·

You're dramatically underestimating the amount of work that testing all foods would entail. It would be, at the minimum: every_single_type_of_food * every_produ

You're dramatically underestimating the amount of work that testing all foods would entail. It would be, at the minimum: every_single_type_of_food * every_production_point_of_said_food * every_manufacturing_point_of_said_food(e.g. restaurants) * every_test_to_run * frequency_to_test_at. That's a wildly exponential function. So the way the FDA (and most regulatory agencies in the US) works is by researching what they believe to be safe and then requiring companies agree to only use those methods/components. If a company does something else, they are required to provide evidence that they believe it is safe. The FDA then evaluates the provided evidence, rather than e.g. running labs/experiments/etc themselves. This drives numerous issues. For instance one is a 'generally recognized as safe' exception that allows companies to add entirely new components to their foods without even notifying the FDA. [1] Genetically engineered foods are another big one. A genetically engineered e.g. potato is, from the FDA's definitions, just a potato. And so it there's no further regulatory oversight or safety testing done whatsoever. The only thing they offer is a voluntary 'plant biotechnology consultation program.' [2] [1] - https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/04/14/399591292/why-the-fda-is-clueless-about-some-of-the-additives-in-our-food https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/04/14/399591292/wh... [2] - https://www.fda.gov/food/agricultural-biotechnology/how-gmos-are-regulated-united-states https://www.fda.gov/food/agricultural-biotechnology/how-gmos...

reaperman 3y ago
I think removing "every_manufacturing_point_of_said_food(e.g. restaurants)" would suffice, and be would perfectly appropriate. We literally already do this for all exported and imported food. So it's not absurd at all. Also I think your variable naming is a bit off. Restaurants aren't generally considered manufacturers.
- somenameforme 3y ago
  No, they don't. What people think the FDA does and what it really does in general are extremely different. There's a very readable paper here [1] precisely on FDA handling of food imports - that is, if for some reason, you don't choose to believe random internet guy insisting everything most people think they know about a topic is wrong. I don't think it's very purposeful for me to just rephrase the paper when you can read it yourself and get all the details. But, if nothing else, I'll at least quote the lead sentence of the background section: --- "The FDA’s overall foods program is distinct in several respects from the agency’s other public health regulatory program areas. First—with the exception of food and color additive approvals and premarket notification for certain foods—foods under FDA jurisdiction, whether produced within or outside the United States, do not require premarket approval. Thus, the foods program overall is generally a postmarket program." --- The FDA does spot testing of high risk foods but otherwise relies primarily on corporations to simply promise that they're following the regulations that the FDA publishes. That's how you get things like lead in apple sauce - it's not something the FDA is going to be checking for. By contrast, they would likely test something like chicken, coming from a region that had a recent bird flu outbreak, for contamination. [1] - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK220404/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK220404/

reaperman 3y ago

I think removing "every_manufacturing_point_of_said_food(e.g. restaurants)" would suffice, and be would perfectly appropriate. We literally already do this for all exported and imported food. So it's not absurd at all. Also I think your variable naming is a bit off. Restaurants aren't generally considered manufacturers.

somenameforme 3y ago
No, they don't. What people think the FDA does and what it really does in general are extremely different. There's a very readable paper here [1] precisely on FDA handling of food imports - that is, if for some reason, you don't choose to believe random internet guy insisting everything most people think they know about a topic is wrong. I don't think it's very purposeful for me to just rephrase the paper when you can read it yourself and get all the details. But, if nothing else, I'll at least quote the lead sentence of the background section: --- "The FDA’s overall foods program is distinct in several respects from the agency’s other public health regulatory program areas. First—with the exception of food and color additive approvals and premarket notification for certain foods—foods under FDA jurisdiction, whether produced within or outside the United States, do not require premarket approval. Thus, the foods program overall is generally a postmarket program." --- The FDA does spot testing of high risk foods but otherwise relies primarily on corporations to simply promise that they're following the regulations that the FDA publishes. That's how you get things like lead in apple sauce - it's not something the FDA is going to be checking for. By contrast, they would likely test something like chicken, coming from a region that had a recent bird flu outbreak, for contamination. [1] - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK220404/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK220404/