Good grief, that was from the article, not me....
I've worked with the FDA on the food side of the industry and I would agree that they are credible, although they can be a bureaucratic nightmare. Our food supply offers the most variety greatest safety in the world. There is no love between industry and the FDA. From what I know about the drug side, their relationship depends on who is running the agency but that their relationship is also highly adversarial. You can understand why that would be when the cost of bringing a new drug to market is now $800 million. I am unfamiliar with the medical equipment area of their oversight.