The FDA’s new strategic plan: open for public comment

• By: Marion Nestle
• Date: October 23, 2016
• Source: www.foodpolitics.com

Republished from www.foodpolitics.com with kind permission of the author

The FDA’s new strategic plan: open for public comment

I am late getting to the FDA’s July announcement of the release of its work plan for the next ten years, Foods and Veterinary Medicine (FVM) Program’s Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2016-2025

The FDA organized the plan under goals for:

• Food safety
• Nutrition
• Animal health
• Organizational excellence

The FDA based the plan on basic principles:

• Public health is the first priority
• Partnerships are the key to success
• Scientific expertise and research are the foundation
• The program is committed to operating openly and transparently

Comments can be submitted on the strategic plan at any time. Instructions for how to do so are here.

One possibility is to ask for further details. The plan does not say how the FDA will accomplish the objectives, how much it will cost to achieve them, or whether it has adequate funding for everything it does (hint: it doesn’t).

Some of what it wants to do is puzzling. For example, one Nutrition objective is this:

• 2.1: Provide and support accurate and useful nutrition information and education so consumers can choose healthier diets consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and other evidence-based recommendations.

I assume this refers to Nutrition Facts labels and menu labels, but one of its sub-objectives is:

• Strategy 2.1d: Promote collaboration with stakeholders, including industry, consumer, and public health groups, to enhance consumer nutrition education directed towards age and demographic groups with specific needs.

I wish the report said more about this. Surely the FDA is not suggesting that the food industry take responsibility for nutrition education? I hope not.

The documents:

• Federal Register Notice
• FDA Home Page for the Plan
• The Strategic Plan for 2016-2015
• Blog: Charting a Path Forward on Food Safety, Nutrition and Animal Health

About the Author:

Marion Nestle is Paulette Goddard Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health (the department she chaired from 1988-2003) and Professor of Sociology at New York University. Her degrees include a Ph.D. in molecular biology and an M.P.H. in public health nutrition, both from the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health (2002, paperback 2003) and Safe Food: The Politics of Food Safety (2003, paperback 2004), both from University of California Press. She runs the www.foodpolitics.com site.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect ComplianceOnline's editorial policy.