Combating Economic Adulteration Of Regulated Goods

Responding to a request from Reps. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and John Dingell, D-Mich., on Oct. 24, 2011, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report which examines how the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has addressed ​“economic adulteration” affecting the food and medical products it regulates.

The report recommends ways that the FDA can strengthen regulatory and enforcement policies to target economic adulteration, and documents gaps in the FDA’s authority which may compromise the agency’s capacity to identify economic adulteration cases, including gaps in the FDA’s drug authority compared to its food and medical device authority. This article provides an overview of the report.