In my time as an inspector, I have worked for (or with) multiple different regulatory agencies. Of those, my least favorite was my time spent doing contract work for FDA. This isn't a criticism of their field staff, who bust their asses but are spread horribly thin. Instead, this is about my issues with the bureaucracy that has become emblematic of the agency.

This past weekend, John Oliver made FDA the subject of the main story on Last Week Tonight. Fortunately, HBO posts the main story on YouTube. In an entertaining way, it touches on many of the things that irk me about the agency, and also touches (briefly) on how things could improve.

I'm not saying FDA is worthless. Obviously food safety is very important to me, so I want them to be as effective as possible. And that's why I find it so frustrating... because of the wasted potential.