The Food and Drug Administration is “a slow-moving target that bleeds profusely when hit,” quipped a former agency head. Now, retired FDA food economist Richard A. Williams takes shots at the agency in his new book, Fixing Food: An FDA Insider Unravels the Myths and the Solutions.

Reacting to exposés describing filthy food manufactured with inedible and unsafe ingredients, Congress first prohibited adulterated and misbranded food in interstate commerce in 1905. Since then, Congress has established expansive food safety and nutrition programs both in the Department of Agriculture and the FDA. FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Nutrition is responsible for the regulation of most foods.