The Food and Drug Import Safety Act : hearing before the Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, One Hundred Tenth Congress, first session, on H.R. 3610, September 26, 2007.

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Recent outbreaks of illnesses traced to contaminated sprouts and lettuce illustrate the holes that exist in the system for monitoring problems and preventing foodborne diseases. Although it is not solely responsible for ensuring the safety of the nation's food supply, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees monitoring and intervention for 80 percent of the food supply. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's abilities to discover potential threats to food safety and prevent outbreaks of foodborne illness are hampered by impediments to efficient use of its limited resources and a piecemeal approach to gathering and using information on risks. Enhancing Food Safety: The Role of the Food and Drug Administration, a new book from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council, responds to a congressional request for recommendations on how to close gaps in FDA's food safety systems. Enhancing Food Safety begins with a brief review of the Food Protection Plan (FPP), FDA's food safety philosophy developed in 2007. The lack of sufficient detail and specific strategies in the FPP renders it ineffectual. The book stresses the need for FPP to evolve and be supported by the type of strategic planning described in these pages. It also explores the development and implementation of a stronger, more effective food safety system built on a risk-based approach to food safety management. Conclusions and recommendations include adopting a risk-based decision-making approach to food safety; creating a data surveillance and research infrastructure; integrating federal, state, and local government food safety programs; enhancing efficiency of inspections; and more. Although food safety is the responsibility of everyone, from producers to consumers, the FDA and other regulatory agencies have an essential role. In many instances, the FDA must carry out this responsibility against a backdrop of multiple stakeholder interests, inadequate resources, and competing priorities. Of interest to the food production industry, consumer advocacy groups, health care professionals, and others, Enhancing Food Safety provides the FDA and Congress with a course of action that will enable the agency to become more efficient and effective in carrying out its food safety mission in a rapidly changing world.

Food safety has been a global concern for many years. While global sourcing of foods and ingredients provides great opportunity for variety and diversity of cultural products, there are significant risks. Programs that regulate food safety and quality in countries around the world vary in their scope and effectiveness, with many being underfunded. Rapidly developing countries may lack the expertise, laboratory resources for testing, and established inspection programs to adequately promote the safety of foods. Rather, these countries may be more focused on providing enough food for their citizens. Lack of documentation or traceability in the exporting country can further exacerbate the situation. Of course, safety problems in food imported from more developed countries also occur, and the source of food borne disease outbreaks are found regularly within the United States. Improving Import Food Safety gathers together vital information on the food safety programs of national governments, the food industry, and the testing industry. Chapters have been contributed by authors from the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Readers will learn about a variety of regulatory approaches to food safety at the federal and state levels in the United States, as well as in selected countries and within the food industry itself. They will also gain insights into the nature and source of safety problems, in addition to approaches to food safety around the world. The book is divided into three sections: Highlighting Key Issues: authors illustrate the millions of permutations for the origin of ingredients, discussing the difficulty if policing imports, providing a unique perspective on the economic situation in China and insight into development of support for small farm producers in Mexico. Legal and Regulatory Issues/Structures in the USA and Abroad: describes the legal and regulatory system in the European Union, the United States, and China, plus a chapter addressing global approaches to fraud. Potential Strategies to Improve Import Safety: presents strategies to deal with what are ultimately global issues, but on multiple levels. Perspectives are provided by authors from Industry, and industry trade association, academia, and a recently semi-retired, global ambassador or food safety. Readers will find this book noteworthy because of the diverse topics and perspectives offered on the challenges of keeping food safe in a global economy. Authors come from a variety of backgrounds, and each has provided a unique perspective on this critical topic. The volume is aimed at importers and exporters of food and ingredients; food microbiologists, food safety and QC/QA personnel; regulatory and legal personnel in food manufacturing companies; food policy makers and regulatory officials and facility and graduate students in food science.