FDA consolidation plan could close federal food and drug labs

December 22, 2006

ASSOCIATED PRESS

2:29 p.m. December 21, 2006

WASHINGTON – As many as seven of the federal laboratories that help

safeguard the nation's food and drugs could close, an environmental

and public health group said Thursday.

A proposed Food and Drug Administration plan to consolidate its

network of labs could leave half of them shuttered, Public Employees

for Environmental Responsibility said. The labs test food, cosmetics,

drugs and other medical products for safety, purity, effectiveness

and to ensure they are properly labeled. They also help investigate

public health threats such as the recent outbreaks of E. coli in

spinach and lettuce.

The group believes the closures could slow the response to a

bioterrorism attack or outbreak of foodborne illness.

" There is no reason why these decisions have to be made in a black

box, " said Jeff Ruch, the group's executive director.

An FDA spokeswoman had no immediate comment on the proposed closures.

In a Dec. 6 e-mail sent to staff of the FDA office that oversees the

agency's field work, associate commissioner for regulatory affairs

Margaret Glavin said a transformation leadership team would discuss

in coming weeks which of the agency's labs would remain open. The

consolidation would in part " maximum efficiencies, " Glavin wrote. She

did not return messages left Thursday.

Although no laboratories were mentioned by name in Glavin's e-mail,

the group said the list includes facilities in Cincinnati, Denver,

Detroit, Kansas City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle.

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, whose members

include local, state and federal government workers, said it pieced

the locations together from details culled from oral presentations

made to FDA employees and a 1996 list of 10 labs the agency sought to

close under a previous restructuring plan.

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