Dr. Richard Williams who was previously the Director for Social Science in the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition of the Food and Drug Administration has published Fixing Food: An FDA Insider Unravels the Myths and the Solutions.

Dr. Williams argues that the FDA should radically embrace new approaches to public health and incorporate disciplines including genetic engineering, nanotechnology, microbiome research in favor of traditional disciplines that he maintains constrain the present and future contribution of the Agency.  Currently the FDA is pursuing a “new era of smarter food safety” advocated by Frank Yiannas, Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response at the FDA.

At issue is the fact that despite regulatory involvement there has been little progress in reducing the incidence rate of foodborne infections.  Lifestyle considerations have contributed to obesity that in turn lead to metabolic complications.

The book exposes cultural and regulatory restraints that are associated with “failed strategies”.

Since leaving FDA, Dr. Williams has served as Vice-president for Policy Research at the Mercatus Center of George Mason University, serving as an advisor to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Chairman of the Board for the Center for Truth in Science and a member of the Board of the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Science.

Information on Fixing Food can be obtained by accessing www.richardawilliams.com