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An earlier message stated in part:
 
>The up front approach is to ask (demand) the regulatory agency to make this
>labeling disclosure mandatory. Not only for Celiacs, but all people
>who suffer from food allergies. I guess if someone were looking to sue --- a
>lawsuit against the FDA would be the correct agency to finger.
>Fran
 
This quoted material replied to a message urging celiacs to sue doctors if
they prescribed non-GF drugs.  I agree that suing doctors is not a good
approach. I agree that the correct focus is on federal labelling laws.
However, I must differ with the suggestion to sue the FDA. I don't think we
give the FDA nearly enough credit for the great improvements in ingredient
and nutritional labelling that have occurred in the past ten years.  (I
think President Bush deserves a lot of credit having appointed Dr. Kessler
to head the FDA, and President Clinton, for having re-appointed him.)
Having been diagnosed as a celiac almost two years ago, I am now painfully
aware of some glaring flaws in food and drug labelling requirements.
However, when evaluating FDA's role in this process, we should consider the
political environment in which FDA functions. I work in the California
state capital (Sacramento) in the area of regulatory law, and have some
experience observing the dynamics of government regulation.  My suspicion
is that, in Washington, D.C., the FDA is under pressure from the Congress
elected in 1994 to REDUCE government regulation of food and drugs.  My
sense is that individuals celiacs interested in upgrading labelling rules
(a cause I certainly support) would be well advised to write to their
representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives and to their two U.S.
Senators, and to explain--using concrete details of everyday life--why
better labels are needed.  We all need to remember that for several years
now the thrust of many in Congress has been to eliminate "federal mandates"
across the board.  Our elected representatives need to know that many of us
strongly support federal labelling requirements.  Not only do we support
them, we want them to be more demanding.
 
Thus, to me, it is not fair to cast the FDA as the bad guy who must
bludgeoned into acting responsibly.  If the people who work for the FDA are
normal human beings, they respond best to constructive, positive input--not
angry, resentful attacks.  Indeed all oral and written contacts with
elected and appointed officials should be thoughtful, respectful, and
diplomatic.
 
HERB BOLZ  :)               *   Davis, California, USA
(personal views ONLY)       *   (between Sacramento and San Francisco)
[log in to unmask]  *     ---city of bikes---