The F.D.A.’s Mission

Published: December 12, 2013

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To the Editor:

Re “F.D.A. Restricts Antibiotics Use for Livestock” (front page, Dec. 12):

The mission of the Food and Drug Administration has grown over time. When it was established in 1906, its mission was only to certify safety. In 1962, that was expanded to safety and efficacy. Now the concern is broadened again, to preserve the usefulness of our antibiotics against the relentless evolution of resistance in pathogens. But throughout, the F.D.A. has been a regulatory agency.

As long as the new restrictions are voluntary for the drug makers, they are not regulations; they are a cop-out. This is a retreat from the agency’s mission at a time when it needs to be pressing forward.

BARRY HASKELL LEVINE
Lafayette, Calif., Dec. 12, 2013