Why not a real czar?

The FDA has appointed a new food safety czar, notes this CNN report. No, you are wrong. And I feel cheated.

Here is the official FDA release:

Commissioner of Food and Drugs Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach today announced the creation of the position of Assistant Commissioner for Food Protection to provide advice and counsel to the Commissioner on strategic and substantive food safety and food defense matters.
Dr. David Acheson, currently chief medical officer at the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, will become assistant commissioner for food protection, the FDA said.

There is no mention of "czar" in the FDA news release. The definition for for czar is:

1) a male monarch or emperor (especially of Russia prior to 1917): Doesn't apply here


2) a person having great power


From the FDA release:

One of Dr. Acheson's first projects will be the development of an agency-wide, visionary strategy for food safety and defense. The strategy will identify and characterize changes in the global food safety and defense system, and identify current and future challenges and opportunities. It will also name potential barriers, gaps, and most critical needs in a food safety and defense system. The strategy will serve as the framework in helping the agency prioritize and address food safety and defense challenges.


TK: As to the secondary definition, we may have to wait and see. The more money Congress gives FDA for food safety regulation, the more powerful Acheson and those who succeed him will be. As it is, the food safety czar can only be as powerful and authoritative as Congress allows him to be. When that day comes, the produce industry may remember the exchange from Fiddler on the Roof. In the movie, a student asks a rabbi if there is a blessing for the evil czar. "May God bless and keep the czar . . . far away from us!"