Republicans kept their platform secret until it was adopted by the 2012 party convention in Tampa. It was not until after it was released that we learned it contained nothing about food safety. This week, Democrats released their platform as the party convention began Charlotte. This one also does not contain any plans regarding food safety. The 56-page 2012 Democratic Party Platform is titled “Moving America Forward,” and it is a document flowing with accomplishment claims for President Obama. Not among them, however, is the bipartisan passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act by the 110th Congress. Some say the Democrats aren’t mentioning food safety because the Obama administration has not implemented the main tenets of FSMA. Some are even saying FSMA never will be implemented, while others have taken the Administration to court to get it going. Facts like that make party platforms go silent. Around the edges of the Democratic Platform there are some statements that one might infer apply to food safety. For example, there is a section entitled “21st Century Government: Transparent and Accountable.” It says President Obama and the Democrats “are committed to rethinking, reforming, and remaking our government so that it can meet the challenges of our time.” It also says: “Rules should be simpler and more flexible, and regulations should be based on sound science and secure Americans’ freedom of choice.” In addition, regulatory systems should promote economic growth, innovation and job creation, while also protecting public health and welfare,” it notes. The Democratic platform says that “efficient and effective regulations enforce common sense safeguards,” imposed for more than a century in the U.S., are the reason why “our food is safe to eat, our water is safe to drink…” The platform even gives a clue as to why Obama is sitting on the regulations to implement the FSMA. The platform makes the claim that the President has saved $10 billion by reducing regulations. “That’s why he has approved fewer regulations in the first three years of his presidency than his Republican predecessor did in his,” say the Democrats. Leaner, smarter, and more consumer-friendly government is called for in the Charlotte platform. It also restates President Obama’s call for the power to reorganize the federal government as another way saving billions. When originally announced, the platform stated that Obama wanted the power to reorganize financial agencies of the federal government. A top OMB official said food safety agencies would be next.