The establishment of the modern era US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took place in 1906 with passage of the Federal Food and Drugs Act. The FDA is responsible for safeguarding public health against the harm that results from exposure to toxic substances that contaminate food and consumer products.
The record of FDA failures to act for protection of the public health in cases where large amounts of scientific knowledge support protective action is long and extensive. United States citizens who have observed these failures have sought to motivate FDA action by filing formal citizen petitions. FDA has responded to many of these petitions by either denying the petition outright or simply refusing to make any response to the petition.
The founder of the Cancer Prevention Coalition, Samuel Epstein, MD, has worked for decades to motivate FDA to take actions that would greatly reduce the exposure of Americans to poisons.
"I have submitted the following eight petitions to the FDA, to which there has not been any response."--Samuel Epstein, MD
January 29, 2010 "Imminent Health Hazard from Hormonal Beef"
January 12, 2010 "Imminent Health Hazard from rBGH"
May 13, 2008 "Citizen Petition Seeking A Cancer Warning On Cosmetic Talc Products"
May 11, 2007 "Citizen Petition Seeking the Withdrawal of the New Animal Drug Application Approval for Posilac-Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH)"
October 22, 1996 "Citizen Petition Seeking Cancer Warninig On Cosmetics Containing DEA"
May 12, 1995 "Citizen Petition Seeking A Medical Alert For All Women With Silicone Gel and Polyurethane Breast Implants"
April 25, 1995 "Citizen Petition Seeking Labeling of Nitrite-Preserved Hot Dogs For Childhood Cancer Risk"
November 17, 1994 "Citizen Petition Seeking Carcinogenic Labeling On All Cosmetic Talc Products"
Elizabeth Henley, Esq., a citizen with no organizational affiliation, petitioned FDA to resume labeling birth control pills so as to inform consumers of the cancer risk associated with use. FDA denied this petition; Henley filed suit in the US Court of Appeals. The decision favored FDA. Attorney Henley considered this an experience of a failure of the courts to provide justice.
Cancer Action NY petitioned FDA to produce regulations that would establish a prohibition against the feeding of waste animal fat to livestock and require the labeling of all foods containing animal fat so as to make known to the consumer the presence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) contaminants in these foods.
"The FDA has failed to act on Cancer Action NY's citizen petition for POPs exposure reduction regulatory actions. Since the filing of this petition in January 2004, many Americans have received dangerous POPs exposures that could have been avoided. FDA is not doing the work that Americans created it to do. This is causing Americans to receive exposures to hazardous chemicals and develop cancers resultant from these exposures. These cancers could have been prevented. The FDA is a corrupt institution. The degree to which corporate interests control FDA is outrageous. It must be reformed. I have decided that filing suit in the US Court of Appeals will be our next step. Having had a considerable amount of experience being cheated as a pro se litigant I am not optimistic about the results. Regardless of that, suing FDA comes next."--Donald L. Hassig
Corporate control of FDA is at the very core of failure to act when scientific knowledge supports action. This control exists in a number of forms. Upper level FDA administrators have close ties to the corporations that FDA is charged with regulating. Former Monsanto executive, Michael R. Taylor, was recently appointed as FDA's Deputy Commissioner for Foods. FDA administrators retire at an early age and seek employment in the corporations that FDA regulates.
Cancer Action NY has contacted the office of Hon. William Owens, 23rd CD State of New York, seeking the assistance of his office in bringing about congressional hearings into the matters of corporate control destroying the public health protection function of the FDA and the great amount of harm that this corporate control has caused to the American public during the period of existence of the FDA.
Cancer Action NYs Cancer Action News Network Donald L. Hassig, Producer
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