Former FDA Officials Testify on Baby-Formula Safety and Chain of Command

The former top food safety official of the FDA, Frank Yiannas, testified before a subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee that the agency's dysfunction led to the nationwide shortage of baby formula last year. He said that the FDA was slow to act when concerns about sanitation arose at the Abbott Nutrition formula plant in Sturgis, Mich., and failed to monitor the food supply chain despite glaring deficiencies exposed by the pandemic. Yiannas cited the FDA's siloed organizational structure and culture as exacerbating delays. The agency has been accused of giving short shrift to its role overseeing the nation's food supply in favor of its drug approval side.