FDA follies Lack of integrity is not a one-time problem
By Eugenia McGrath
Letter to Editor
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
StarTribune.com
October 2, 2009
At last the Food and Drug Administration recognizes political corruption exists in its device approval process ("FDA says it was pressured to OK knee device," Sept. 25). This lack of integrity may be the tip of the iceberg.
In a closely watched recent decision, the FDA decided that the controversial dental filling material, amalgam, may be sold without disclosing -- even to parents and pregnant women -- that it is 50 percent mercury, and the vapors go to the brain, uterus and kidneys.
Further inquiry showed a revolving-door problem: The commissioner, Margaret Hamburg, who came to the FDA from the nation's top amalgam seller, claimed she was recused for ethical reasons, yet met with staff about the rule.
The Obama administration has egg on its face for appointing an FDA commissioner who broke the president's pledges to reduce mercury use in this country -- and to restore ethics in government.
EUGENIA MCGRATH, MINNEAPOLIS;
MINNESOTA DIRECTOR,
CONSUMERS FOR DENTAL CHOICE