You're always hearing about how the FDA passed one drug or denied approval to another. What is the FDA and does it really have that much control over all the food and all the medicines we use?
Well, the FDA isn't as powerful as you would like it to be when it comes to food safety. Tens of millions of people fall sick to food poisoning every year. Thousands of people actually die because of it. If the FDA really could do what the name suggests, this wouldn't happen.
They just don't have enough power to do all that. Even if they know that there is a certain food on the shelves that's dangerous, they cannot order the manufacturer to issue a recall. They can only ask nicely. At least, that's the way it used to be. These days though, the FDA has been granted more authority. They can actually make food companies do things.
Well, the FDA isn't as powerful as you would like it to be when it comes to food safety. Tens of millions of people fall sick to food poisoning every year. Thousands of people actually die because of it. If the FDA really could do what the name suggests, this wouldn't happen.
They just don't have enough power to do all that. Even if they know that there is a certain food on the shelves that's dangerous, they cannot order the manufacturer to issue a recall. They can only ask nicely. At least, that's the way it used to be. These days though, the FDA has been granted more authority. They can actually make food companies do things.