FDA Aims to Reduce Contaminated Food Via New Rules

With one in six people in America developing a foodborne illness each year , the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is moving forward with the proposal of two new rules as required by the Food Safety Modernization Act , FSMA, signed into law Jan. 4, 2011. Some might say, "At long last," since this is the first major action by the federal agency since the legislation was signed into law by President Barack Obama.

New FDA-Proposed Rules Address Manufacture, Handling and Processing of Food

The first rule deals with foreign and domestic manufacturers of food for human consumption would require these manufacturers to develop a plan to prevent their products from causing foodborne illnesses, and should a problem develop, the manufacturers would be required then to develop a plan to address the issue.

The second rule addresses farms that grow fruits and vegetables by setting national standards for water quality used in the production and handling of such crops.

Implementation of New Food Safety Rules

The FDA's proposed new rules will be published in the Federal Register as required with a 120-day open period for comments and concerns by citizens before the new rules will become final.

Don't look for immediate enactment of the rules, even when the public comment period comes to and end. The federal agency will review the comments and make any necessary adjustments to the rules, with the beginning of implementation expected to be about a year, Taylor explained to USAToday.com .

The deputy commissioner also revealed that implementation of these rules will require re-training of government inspectors, but as of yet no one knows where funding will come from for the changes.

New Food Safety Regulations Shift Focus from Reaction to Prevention

Michael R. Taylor, deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine at the FDA, said in an interview that the new rules "set the basic framework for a modern, science-based approach to food safety" and shift the focus of food safety to one of prevention rather than reaction.

Taylor addressed the rationale that required two years for the federal agency to go from Jan. 1, 2011 to enactment on the law: The FDA has come to the realization that one-size-fits-all rules and regulations don't address the complexity of the issues, or the practicality of genuine solutions.

TheHill.com reported that some food safety advocates were angered by the long delay, and the Center for Food Safety filed a lawsuit in August against the FDA and the Obama administration for bypassing interval deadlines in the law without taking action.

Bottom Line

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that nearly 130,000 Americans are hospitalized each year from foodborne illnesses and approximately 3,000 deaths annually result from these preventable infections. The safety of food in the United States is either important or it isn't; the federal government dragging its feet in the implementation of, and funding for, the Food Safety Modernization Act belies the very law it established.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fda-aims-reduce-contaminated-food-via-rules-231200060.html

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