Marty Makary is a step closer to the head of the Food and Drug Administration.
On March 13, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted to promote the appointment of Makary to the entire Senate. It is likely that he will be approved because he has received democratic support in the mood of Thursday, with members of the Senate Committee with 14-9 votes for his nomination.
Although food safety was mentioned during his nomination hearing, this was not the type of food safety related to foods transferred by food and outbreaks. It was previously about food chemicals, which has long been a favorite subject of Robert F. Kennedy, the new secretary of Health and Human Services.
Makary, researcher of surgeon and public policy at Johns Hopkins University, has tailored to Kennedy and the ‘Make America Healthy’ agenda of the Trump administration. During his confirmation hearing he said he is a believer in science, but tempered with common sense.
“I believe in the scientific process. Moreover, I also believe that we can use common sense, “said Makary. “President Trump and the focus of secretary Kennedy on healthy food have galvanized a grassroots movement in America. Obesity in children is not a willpower problem and the rise of Alzheimer’s from early start is not a genetic cause. We should be and we will tackle food because this influences our health. “
Senate committee members asked questions about recent redundancies at the FDA, some scientists were responsible for investigating food chemicals.
Sen. Angela Alsobroooks, D-MD, asked Makary if he would rent the fired FDA scientists again. ALSOBROOKS argued the firing of FDA employees to save the taxpayer dollars, because in some cases entire offices are paid with money derived from user costs.
Makary was without obligation and said: “If an employee has not registered on his VPN for two years, I do not want to hire that person again. But if there are people who deserve a look, I am of course happy to look with it. “
Senator John Hickenlooper, D-Co, said that the understaffing in the FDA ‘chaos’ and caused a ‘serious moral problem’. He wondered how Makary would ensure that the FDA would retain its status if maintaining the gold standard of science around the world if it did not have enough inspectors in the staff.
After he first repeated that he was not involved in such decisions, Makary said that he would “carry out a continuous assessment to ensure that the scientists and food director have all the resources they need to do their work.”
(To register for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here)