“FDA Brings Good Things to Life”
After nine straight columns on FDA and various aspects of advocacy and the appropriations process (https://www.strengthenfda.org/friday-updates), it is time to devote a column to the Alliance’s other purpose: educating policymakers, media, and stakeholders about FDA’s expanding mission and growing responsibilities.
“FDA brings good things to life” is the theme of this column. This appropriates the slogan that General Electric (GE) used for more than 20 years to educate consumers that the company’s products were both highly beneficial and broadly diverse.
Here are some examples of “bringing good things to life” from “FDA at a Glance” (here) produced by FDA’s Office of Economics and Analysis.
FDA oversees the safety of more than $2.1 trillion worth of food, tobacco, and medical products.
FDA-regulated products account for about 15 cents of every dollar spent by U.S. consumers
FDA regulates about 75% of the U.S. food supply. The remainder is meat, poultry, and some egg products.
FDA oversees 20,000 prescription drugs approved for marketing, along with 6,500 different medical devices, and 1600 animal drug products.
FDA has responsibilities for nearly 300,000 FDA-registered facilities worldwide. About 136,000 of them are located in the U.S. and about 162,000 of them are located overseas. About 85% of the facilities are involved with human and animal food.
FDA-regulated products account for 16% of U.S. imports ($383 billion) and 17% of exports ($245 billion).
To these facts and figures, I would add:
Every American is touched multiple times each day by FDA-regulated products and services. We rely on the FDA for safe human foods and safe and effective human medical products.
Beyond foods, drugs, and biologics, FDA also has responsibilities for animal food and drugs, vaccines, diagnostics (tests and imaging), nutrition, cosmetics and personal care products, standards for radiation emissions from electronic products, dietary supplements and vitamins, medical countermeasures, and the list goes on and on.
Excluding tobacco, FDA’s budget is about $6 billion, of which about 60% is derived from BA (taxpayer funding) and about 40% from medical product user fees. (for more information on how FDA is funded, go to the Alliance’s primer on the topic).
FDA’s 18,000 employees worldwide are making all of the agency’s accomplishments possible. More staff are needed, with an emphasis on the recruitment of highly-educated individuals with strong science and public health backgrounds.
In sum, the FDA is pivotal to public health and safety, as well as vital to our nation’s growth, prosperity, and national defense.
Editorial Note:
The Analysis and Commentary section is written by Steven Grossman, Executive Director of the Alliance for a Stronger FDA.