Toxic Delays: The FDA Shrugs While The Rich Poison Us for Profit

Once again, the FDA reminds us why the United States of America, despite being one of the richest nations in the world, can’t manage to protect its own people. Case in point: Red Dye No. 3. Yeah, it was banned from cosmetics in 1990 because it was linked to cancer. But instead of pulling it from food at the same time, the FDA apparently thought, Eh, what’s a little cancer risk in kids’ snacks? Fast forward 35 years, and only now—after decades of feeding us toxic sludge—they’ve finally decided maybe it’s a bad idea. (slow clap) Leadership! Whoo-hoo!

But don’t worry, that’s just one example of the FDA’s signature move: act only when the house is fully on fire. The Abbott infant formula fiasco was an even bigger disaster. A whistleblower warned the FDA in early 2021 about filthy conditions at Abbott’s Michigan plant, where much of the country’s formula supply is produced. The FDA got the email, and ”accidentally” archived it. Gee, funny how that works. For 15 freakin’ months. Infants were hospitalized, two died, and shelves went empty before the FDA bothered to act.

By the time inspectors showed up, the plant was a mess—bacteria, a leaky roof, lax safety protocols, the works. They eventually issued a recall and shut down the plant, but not before creating a nationwide panic as desperate parents scrambled to find formula…which included mommies posting desperate pleas to social media. Now, after letting the situation spiral out of control, the FDA has promised reforms. Sure, they’ll fix it—just like they’ve been fixing food safety for the past few decades.

Of course, Abbott isn’t the only time the FDA’s been caught napping. Let’s not forget phthalates—those sneaky, toxic chemicals in food packaging, which health advocates have been trying to get banned since 2016. The FDA keeps stalling, as if waiting for a divine revelation—or maybe just another PR disaster. Meanwhile, no one I know personally can even pronounce the word, so there’s that.

Here’s the thing: this isn’t incompetence by accident. It’s by design. Deep-pocketed industries know they can buy time—and maybe even a little regulatory immunity—by cozying up to Congress and dragging reforms out as long as possible. Meanwhile, other developed countries are out here actually protecting their citizens, while we play the long game of “Whose Poison Is It Anyway?”—where the rules are made up, the oversight is optional, and your health doesn’t matter.

Enough hand-wringing. Here’s what should happen if we want the FDA to actually do its job:

A Plan of Action

1. Act on whistleblower reports immediately

The Abbott situation should never have happened. Congress needs to mandate that the FDA investigate all whistleblower complaints within 30 days and report their status directly to leadership. It might help if an independent third party vetted all complaints to prevent them from mysteriously vanishing into an inbox or getting “accidentally archived” into oblivion. Of course, that would probably spark cries of government overreach, unconstitutional meddling, or some other equally farcical crapola.

2. Give the FDA power to mandate reporting

Right now, it seems like too many manufacturer reporting requirements for food contamination are about as immediate as tech company reporting timelines for data breaches. In other words, somebody will say something if someone important notices, but by then, the widespread damage is already done. Basically, Congress needs to expand FDA authority to require a 24-48 hour reporting window of any contamination found during production, lest there be fines or worse.

3. Shut the revolving door

Let’s be real—too many FDA officials go on to work for the very industries they were regulating. Congress needs to crack down on this by enforcing stricter cooling-off periods and increasing transparency around industry influence.

4. Speed up inspections

When it takes 102 days to investigate a formula plant during a crisis, we have a problem. The FDA needs better resources, more staff, and strict timeframes for inspections.

5. Fund what matters

You can’t protect public health on a shoestring budget. Congress needs to prioritize funding for food and drug safety and give the FDA what it needs to function in the 21st century, not the 1970s.

Time Is Running Out

Here’s the kicker: while the FDA fumbles and corporations keep cashing in, there’s another threat looming—the wholesale dismantling of government oversight itself. The Trump administration—and those inspired by it—aren’t interested in reforming agencies like the FDA. They want to tear them down completely. And if they succeed, forget slow responses or weak enforcement. There won’t be any regulation left to protect us.

Corporate-owned media isn’t exactly helping, either. They’d rather play nice with billionaires than call out the regulatory failures that let industries poison us in the name of profit. So where does that leave us? It leaves us with citizen journalism and grassroots activism. It leaves us with people willing to shine a light on these failures and cause some good trouble, as John Lewis so aptly put it.

We are not out of options. If we want a government that actually protects its people, it’s up to us to demand better, call out corruption, and keep the pressure on. Because when agencies like the FDA fail, the consequences are real, and they’re deadly. And if we wait for the FDA to figure that out on its own, we’ll be waiting another 35 years.