FDA hires 1,300 scientists and doctors

WASHINGTON More than 1,000 scientists and doctors have become employees of the Food and Drug Administration.

FDA officials hope that the 1,317 new experts it has hired, who represent a 10 percent increase in the number of staff, will put it in a better position to protect public health and safety.

Most of the new employees are medical officers, pharmacologists, chemists, biologists, field inspectors and statisticians. Almost all have already started or will start later in the month.