Senate Confirms Dr. Margaret Hamburg To Head FDA
The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed Dr. Margaret Hamburg to lead the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). Hamburg, a bioterrorism expert, will be sworn in as the 21st commissioner of the FDA, and only the second woman to hold the post in 100 years of agency history. She was confirmed unanimously.
Hamburg’s first priority will be to help direct the development of a vaccine for the H1N1 flu. Notably, Hamburg has, in turn, promised to place greater emphasis on food safety. In the midst of numerous high-profile food-borne illness outbreaks, Hamburg stated she intends to shift the agency’s focus from chasing outbreaks once they occur to preventing them in the first instance. To accomplish this goal, Hamburg would also like to take advantage of the recent spike in food safety awareness by media, consumers and industry. As she puts it, “the growing consensus among experts and industry is that now is the time to shift to a food safety system that puts prevention first.”
We, of course, wish her the best as we all work, collectively, to enhance food safety.
