FDA Seeks Comments, Announces Public Meeting on FSMA Capacity-Building Plan
The Food and Drug Administration requested comments by July 20, 2012, and announced a public meeting on June 19, 2012 in Washington, DC, on its capacity-building plan, pursuant to the Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA), to improve international food safety capacity. FDA said the meeting, entitled “International Capacity Building with Respect to Food Safety,” will open with a discussion of the context for international food safety capacity building and then proceed with more specific discussions about the capacity-building plan.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
(The Food Safety and Modernization Act, signed into law in January 2011, requires, among other things, that FDA develop a plan to increase the technical, scientific, and regulatory food safety capacity of foreign governments and their respective food industries in countries that export foods to the U.S. See ITT’s Online Archives 11010426 for comprehensive summary of FSMA, as well as 11030720 and 11080916 for FDA summary and presentations on FSMA’s requirements, respectively. See also ITT’s Online Archives 11051930 for summary of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Food Safety Cooperation Forum (FSCF) and the World Bank to collaborate on food safety training programs designed to enhance food safety and to facilitate trade in the Asia Pacific region, which FDA officials said would enhance FDA efforts to build foreign governments’ food safety capacity.)
Plan must Include Data Sharing, Training, Reg Harmonization, Etc.
FDA’s capacity-building plan must be developed in consultation with certain stakeholders, including representatives of the food industry, foreign government officials, nongovernmental organizations that represent the interests of consumers, and certain Federal officials (including the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Secretary of Commerce). FDA is also required to consult with other stakeholders.
The capacity-building plan must include, as appropriate:
- Recommendations for bilateral and multilateral arrangements and agreements, including providing for responsibilities of exporting countries to ensure food safety;
- Provisions for secure electronic data sharing;
- Provisions for mutual recognition of inspection reports;
- Training of foreign governments and food producers on U.S. requirements for safe food;
- Recommendations on whether and how to harmonize requirements under the Codex Alimentarius; and
- Provisions for multilateral acceptance of laboratory methods and testing and detection techniques.
Comments May Address Required Elements of Plan or Introduce Add'l Issues
The public meeting is an opportunity for interested persons and stakeholders to share views concerning how FDA should address the six elements in the capacity-building plan. Interested persons may also share views as to whether FDA should consider additional issues in developing the plan.
FDA said attendees are encouraged to register in advance because seating is limited. Information on how to register online is available here.