C’mon. Are you surprised?

A new Harris Interactive poll shows the venerable agency is viewed positively by 62 percent of the public. At first blush, that may seem respectable.

Here’s why it’s not: First, seven other federal agencies ranked higher, including the CDC, which topped the list; the FAA; the NIH; the FBI, the USDA; the SEC, and the TSA. The FDA fared better than the CIA; Homeland Security; the IRS; the EPA and the Social Security Administration.

Moreover, the FDA ranking is slumping. In 2004, the agency fostered a warm and fuzzy feeling in 65 percent of the public, and in 2003, 68 percent thought highly of its activities.

The latest ranking drops the FDA back to where it was in 2000, when 62 percent of the public held it in high esteem. Maybe not so coincidentally, that followed well-publicized withdrawals of several high-profile drugs, including the fen-phen diet pills and the Rezulin diabetes med.

What explains the recent drop? Maybe Taco Bell. Maybe Vioxx.

[tags]FDA[/tags]