After an easy passage through her Senate confirmation hearing last Thursday, Dr. Margaret Hamburg appears well on her way to taking over the lead position of the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Hamburg will begin her time as the head organization later in the month, taking over for Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, the current acting commissioner for the FDA.

Though her expertise is more in the fields of bioterrorism and infectious-disease research, Dr. Hamburg has vowed to make a priority of improving oversight of food safety. As yet, is not clear how such changes will be implemented, but the ambitions of the soon-to-be commissioner seem to be backed by the Obama administration after an announcement that it has proposed a nearly 20% increase in the FDA's budget for next year. Half of that amount would be specifically set aside for improving food safety, something the administration has been leery of in the aftermath of two closely timed recalls for peanuts and pistachios.

Associate Press: FDA nominee pledges to revamp food safety