According to Associated Press reports, in his weekly radio address Saturday, President Obama put forth his picks for the posts of FDA Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner. As expected, he named Margaret Hamburg – the New York City Health Commissioner - for the top FDA post; and Joshua Sharfstein - Baltimore Health Commissioner - as her principal deputy.

Referring to the US food safety system as a “hazard to public health,” Obama reposed faith in the new FDA head to turnaround the situation by revamping the system. He added that the current “unacceptable” aspects of the food safety system will “change under the leadership of Dr. Margaret Hamburg.”

In his radio address, Obama said: “Protecting the safety of our food and drugs is one of the most fundamental responsibilities government has.” Acknowledging that the present food safety system is far too extensive, Obama said that under-funded and under-staffed FDA has been rendered incapable in terms of scrutinizing all of the over 150,000 food processing plants and warehouses countrywide.

Moreover, noting that the nation’s food safety laws have remained unchanged since the times of President Theodore Roosevelt, Obama said he intends forming a Food Safety Working Group to work towards the coordination of food safety laws all through the government, as well as advise him regarding measures to update them.