FDA Issues International Food Safety Capacity-Building Plan
The Food and Drug Administration issued its international food safety capacity-building plan, as required by the Food Safety Modernization Act. FSMA requires FDA to develop a plan to expand technical, scientific, and regulatory food safety capacity of foreign governments and food industries in countries that export food to the U.S.
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The plan includes four goals:
Ensure efficiency across the Foods and Veterinary Medicine Program. To this end, the plan calls for FDA to ensure collaboration across the FVM program, and to maximize coordination within FDA. FDA plans to accomplish this second goal by monitoring and evaluating outcomes and using analytical tools for priority setting and resource allocation.
Increase effectiveness through evidence-based decision making. FDA plans to enhance intelligence regarding food safety risks, use food safety assessments, and “design for effectiveness” by developing a results-based approach.
Support information exchange between FDA and foreign governments. FDA said it will support bilateral and multilateral agreements with foreign governments, “including provisions to provide for responsibility of exporting countries to ensure food safety.” FDA also plans to support secure electronic data sharing with foreign governments or other entities, and explore reliance on mutual recognition of inspection reports.
Enhance technical assistance and capacity building in food safety. FDA will work with partners to develop and deliver food safety training programs, it said. It also plans to train foreign governments and food producers on U.S. requirements for safe food, consider whether and how to harmonize requirements under the Codex Alimentarius, and support multilateral acceptance of laboratory methods and testing and detection techniques.
FDA’s international food safety capacity-building plan is available here.