Every day as American’s go about their lives, most do so with out the cumbersome worry of their food safety. It is because of the Food and Drug Administration that we are able to enjoy such a freedom that many around the world are lacking. Unfortunately, the FDA is ill equipped to meet the needs of a market that is continually expanding. The 400 inspectors that the FDA currently employs are unable to keep up in a market that has doubled in the last decade. Despite new discoveries in food preservation, the FDA simply cannot keep stride with the daunting task of assuring public food safety. Armed with this knowledge, companies are finding that they can simply disregard governmental regulations, as the odds are favorable that they will not be caught. In fact, according to our reading, the average company will only be visited by the FDA every eight years on average. Thus, many companies turn their backs on regulations, as the savings prove large in comparison to the relatively small gamble. According to the FDA budget, the Presidential budget for the year 2001 has called for approximately 176 million in additional funding for the FDA; we simply must examine the way in which it is spent. I propose that we use the 30 million dollars in additional funding allocated specifically for food inspection be spent on the addition of more inspectors and educational programs to raise consumers’ awareness on the dangers associated with some foods. In addition, imposing larger fines and even specific foreign company embargos should be sufficient to make entire nations sit up and take notice.Simply the threat of having tainted goods discovered by the FDA is enough to raise the eyebrows of any company executive. Despite this fact, the threat remains largely ignored as many businesses opt not to conform to governmental regulations as the cost of doing so may over time, add up to far more than being caught once or twice. As this is so, ...
