My Position on the FDA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My Position on the FDA - Essay Example While debates continue, on risks associated with the GMO use to human health, questions continue to arise as to whether FDA should take action in assessing the risks of these foods, in isolation and separately from GM foods and require labeling of food items, to have consumers informed, about the presence of GM ingredients, to enable them to make purchase decisions accordingly. I strongly feel that FDA played a significant role in approving the GMO for the reasons that thorough research and testing is done to ensure that these products are safe for both human and animal consumption. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States is charged with a number of duties and one of such is protection of the public health through assuring the efficiency, safety and security of medical devices, cosmetics, biological products, food supply together with human and veterinary drugs. FDA is a federal agency that deals with the regulation of GMO products among other agencies, which include the United States Department of Agriculture (â€Å"USDA†) and the Environmental Protection Agency (â€Å"EPA†). The FDA policy leaves the duty of ensuring food safety entirely to the manufacturer or producer. So the company to assert the safety of an item meant for consumption and not any independent review team. The health of the prospective consumers will, therefore, be left at the mercy of companies or manufacturers that could just be interested in maximizing turnover while treating with little regard the need for the GMO foods to meet certain health standards. The FDA guidance to industry issued in 1997 did cover voluntary consultation procedures, though it still depended, upon the product’s developer, to offer safety data. At present, there is no regulatory scheme for the GM foods to confirm their safety for human consumption. There is an increasing use of chemical herbicides, which are poisonous and engineered particularly for killing plant life.