Federal and Private Policy Oversight
According to the website, the food and drug administration is the first and oldest agency to delve into the world of consumer protection in the American federal government. From the seventeenth century, state governments chemically analyzed food and products to look into these products’ safety. This responsibility was taken upon by the agriculture department in 1862, and then by the food and drug administration. Therefore, the main purpose of the FDA was to ensure consumers got the right drugs and foods. Its primary law was the pure food and drugs act, which was passed in 1906. It prohibited the commerce of wrongly branded and adulterated drugs and food, and the FDA was the enforcing power of the law. Thus, with the changing world and laws, the FDA’s leading role has remained to promote public health and offer guidelines to put into consideration when regulatory evaluation challenges.
The FDA menu is loaded with a lot of information. The menu is divided into four segments. Firstly, there is the featured segment. Here, there are subtitles such as FDA guidance documents, press announcements, warning letters, advisory committees, the FDA’s contact information, and a setting to get the Spanish website. Secondly, there is the products segment. Therein is the food, drugs, cosmetics, animal and veterinary products, medical devices, and other products that the FDA has researched and provided worthy information. Thirdly, the website has the topics segments, which comprise FDA general information, safety, news, events, science, research, international programs, and emergency preparedness information. Lastly, the “information for” segment. Here the website provides specific information for specific people. For example, there is information specifically for consumers, health professionals, patients, state officials, and the entire industry. Furthermore, the website has many photos, videos, and recorded audio to provide more information I required. For example, on the FDA’s history, the website provides historical images, virtual exhibits, and oral histories of the agency.
Since there are several tabs on the website, the data is readily available and organized orderly. For example, under the drugs section, the website provides drug information, availability, approvals, developments, regulatory information, etc. All the drugs the agency has authorized in order of the most recently approved drug. Moreover, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the website provides information on the progress and research conducted to acquire COVID-19 medicines and the medicines’ supply chain. FDA also reveals its collaborations with the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) to ensure authenticity and accountability. The website is very accommodating, considering one can change the whole website to Spanish for people who do not understand English.
The quality measures almost infinite. There are drug quality sampling and testing programs, the quality systems for devices, drug manufacturing inspections, and quality assurance guidelines for hemodialysis devices. Moreover, there are quality and bioequivalence standards for narrow therapeutic index drugs. These are some of the processes and systems that the FDA considers for quality measures. Additionally, there are laws and regulations that the FDA must follow to ensure quality measures are met. These include the mammography quality standards act and the standard operating procedure. In my opinion, the website is beneficial, reliable, accessible, and well organized. The fact that it incorporates both English and Spanish is very considerate. Furthermore, it uses simple English. The website also has a search bar where one can key in whatever they want to know.
When was the agency given the name, FDA?