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Some FDA documents contain proprietary company information about drug testing or manufacturing techniques. The FDA claims the deletions policy actually benefits the public because it allows the agency to release documents that might have to be withheld indefinitely if they were not redacted. But the agency's critics say the policy is simply an extra logistical hurdle that is unprecedented in the federal government. "The steps that the FDA has created leave requesters in a state of limbo and add a procedural barrier that is neither lawful nor necessary," said Julie Murray, an attorney with Public Citizen who worked on the petition. Murray said the deletions policy also distorts the FDA's record of compliance with the Freedom of Information Act, which it must report annually. In 2011, the FDA reported that 97 percent of the documents it released under the Freedom of Information Act were "full releases." That number is higher than any other agency in the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health and other institutions. But Public Citizen says the FDA's figure is likely inflated since the agency apparently doesn't count "minor deletions" as withheld information. An FDA spokesman said this week that the agency is still reviewing Public Citizen's petition. Under FDA rules, the agency has 180 days to respond to petitions, placing a March 19 deadline on the group's request.
[Associated
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