According to an article in today s Wall Street Journal, the Nestle unit that is being inspected for the origin of the E. coli bacteria found in their Toll House Cookies refused FDA requests for access to pest-control records, environmental-testing programs, and other information during regular inspections over the past five years: David Elder, director of regional operations at the FDA s Office of Regulatory Affairs, said many food companies do open their records to inspectors. But the agency, he said, doesn t have explicit authority to access any records during regular food-safety inspections, with the exception of infant formula, seafood, juices, and low-acid canned food.
The key word here is request, says ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross. Why shouldn t the FDA be able to demand such information? It seems like regulatory agencies should have access to information that could control contamination. If it s an issue of proprietary information, I m sure they could find a way to hide it from the public record.
As ACSH s Todd Seavey heard in a private conversation with an anonymous marketing agent for the food industry, though, There are pretty much constant, ongoing incidents of contamination and food poisoning. The FDA can pick which ones to make into a big deal. Conventional wisdom among industry insiders is that they are announced during ratings time, something easier to do with constant access to company records and an eye on failures to comply with regulations.