FDA gone loko

This country sure can rally when it wants to.

In record time, the United States organized against a lethal threat to this nation’s youth. Few party lines were drawn, Democrats and Republicans embraced each other across party lines in this fight against a deadly menace. It truly was an example of unity in a nation whose pundits are constantly insisting it’s broken.

So what could possibly be the great enemy that struck a cord of harmony in this divided country of ours?

Well, my dear reader, that would be the coordinated efforts against the hazardous product known as Four Loko.

In a move celebrated by the White House and parents alike, the Food and Drug Administration moved to ban all alcoholic, caffeinated drinks for the better safety of this country.

In response, the makers of Four Loko assured a panicked public that all stimulating effects of the drink would be removed in subsequent productions.

So now we can all rest easy knowing the government has the country’s health in mind. Maybe Capitol Hill can’t quite get it right on airport security or a nuclear arms treaty, but when it comes to keeping dangerous products off the shelves, the government knows what it’s doing.

Except for when it doesn’t.

Take, for example, the egg recall earlier this month that was conducted due to fears of salmonella.  At first glance it would appear to be a routine procedure. The FDA, recognizing a contamination problem, alerts the public at large. It’s a matter of public health whose ill effects are far reaching.

Whereas Four Loko can be consumed responsibly and result in only a hangover, salmonella’s effects can be far worse.

Usually only resulting in diarrhea, abdominal craps and fever for up to three days, this food-borne illness can be life-threatening for pregnant women, older adults and those with HIV/AIDS.

So where is the congressional outrage? If the country can unite against a party drink, surely there will be national indignation over contaminated products masquerading as a healthy breakfast option.

Except there hasn’t been and there won’t be because the same thing happened during the summer and nothing has changed.

In fact, the man responsible for 1,600 people falling ill in August by eating eggs with salmonella, is connected to the more recent recall. Austin “Jack” DeCoster has financial ties to the farms that produced the most recent batch of infected eggs.
William Marler, a food safety attorney representing 105 people who fell ill after eating eggs from DeCoster’s farms, best summed up the situation.

In a statement to the Los Angeles Times he said, “How any DeCoster operation remains in business is a mystery to me.”

It should be a question on everyone’s mind. If this country can come together in an effort to ban a beverage, certainly something can be done about the status of our eggs.

But this country can only rally when it wants to, and it seems that we have no interest in actually tackling anything of immediate peril.  

E-mail: danfleis@indiana.edu