History, Services and Development of FDA
The government exists to protect its people from various dangerous elements. The common concept of dangerous elements is on people with criminal intent or outsiders who wanted to overpower the local population. The government should do everything to protect the people from these individuals and groups in order to maintain a harmonious society.
But aside from the dangerous human actions that could place everyone in a precarious situation, the government should also protect its citizens from products that could be dangerous for their well being. Without complete intrusion on what the people should consume, it is also the government’s duty to protect the citizens from harmful food, medications and other form of treatments. To protect the citizens from these elements, the Food and Drug Administration or the FDA was set-up by the US government. The FDA is part of the Department of Health and Human Services and their role is to maintain the safety of food and medicines used in the USA.
History of the FDA
The creation of the FDA was credited to Harvey Washington Wiley. He is the first commissioner of the FDA as his early efforts in the Department of Chemistry led to the development of Federal Food and Drug Act of 1906. While working for the Department of Chemistry in 1902, Wiley conducted experiments on preservatives applied on food. The volunteers who joined the experiment on preservatives were later dubbed as the “The Poison Squad”. The preservative tested was borax and, after two months of experiment, the amount of borax added on food as preservatives has made the volunteers sick. Fortunately, the effects are non-lethal but it is more than enough for the government to act on these types of food preparation. President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Act on June 30, 1906 along with the Meat Inspection Act.
Initial reaction to the establishment of FDA was passive because it’s regarded simply as a statement against bad food and medicine. But the FDA Act of 1906 was more than enough for the Department of Chemistry to test food and medicines. Legal action was taken against the manufacturers of bad food and medicine. This served as a warning sign for companies as regulation and inspection of food is now in place. In 1938, the FDA was further expanded to cover cosmetics. As medical practices advanced, different laws pertaining to different practices and devices were also regulated by the FDA.
Roles of the Food and Drug Administration
The name of the government department provides a glimpse on what the FDA could do. In simple terms, they are in charge in making sure that the food and drugs available for public consumption is safe and with very minimal side effects. But the FDA has expanded their operations as more ways of helping the public eat well and staying safe were established. Aside from the food available to the public, drugs both generic and doctor-prescribed are also extensively tested by the FDA before released for public use.
The FDA is not only in charge in testing the product’s safety when used. They are also in charge in monitoring the advertising schemes of the manufacturer. The FDA has to make sure that each manufacturer properly informs the public on what the product could do. Post-purchase support is also checked by the FDA to prevent scams.
The extended capability of the FDA with regards to advertisement on drugs is due to the increased interest on alternative medicine. The FDA makes sure that their claim is not a scam. There are companies who go with false advertising just to gain customers and the FDA prevents these companies from propagating because it will simply cost consumers without any effect.
The FDA is also in charge in testing vaccines and other biotechnology products. As already indicated, the company is also charge of cosmetics as some chemicals added to beauty products could have significant side effects. The FDA has also expanded their operations in testing food products and medicines for animals. In 2009, the FDA has also expanded their authority to tobacco and tobacco related products since the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act was passed.
Changes and Programs of the FDA
As indicated, the FDA has to constantly make some changes on some of their regulations as well as implement new laws to cater to increasing options for foods and especially drugs available in the market. A good example is the licensing of living organisms as a method of treatment. In 2004, the FDA granted permission to doctors seeking to develop maggots as a method of treatment. This was the first living organism approved by the FDA for medical purposes.
In 2002, the FDA was also part of the landmark Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act. With the addition of Pediatric Research Equity Act of 2003, the FDA was given authority to conduct further testing of the children’s medicine in the market. This allowed private companies to conduct their own testing of the pediatric products if the public testing made by the FDA provide inadequate or its efficiency cannot be verified. The two laws were considered landmark ruling since before the 90s, less than 25% of the available medicines for children were only tested for safety and efficiency.
With the aid of the FDA, the US government provides the public additional information and guidance on safe and effective medicines, food and health care procedures. Since its establishment in 1906, they continue to adapt to the health care and food trend to make sure the latest in the market are safe and effective as advertised.