New rules hope to improve the safety of imported food in the U.S.
The rules are part of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) signed by President Obama, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) press release, reported.
The Act is part of an effort to modernize the food safety system. The approach will prevent food safety problems, as opposed to attacking already existing ones.
For the first time importers will be required to completely verify all imported produce meets U.S. food and safety regulations.
Importers must make sure their suppliers are using modern food safety equipment and techniques, and apply the same safety precautions as domestic growers.
"We must work toward global solutions to food safety so that whether you serve your family food grown locally or imported you can be confident that it is safe," FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D., said. "Today's announcement of these two new proposed rules will help to meet the challenges of our complex global food supply system. Our success will depend in large part on partnerships across nations, industries, and business sectors."
Fifteen percent of all U.S. food (50 percent of which is composed of fresh fruit and 20 percent fresh vegetables) is imported from about 150 different countries.
The Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP) will give importers a "clearly defined responsibility" to ensure food safety.
"FSMA provides the FDA with a modern tool kit that shifts the paradigm for imports, as well as domestic foods, from a strategy of reaction to one of systematic prevention," Michael R. Taylor, deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine, said. "Rather than relying primarily on FDA investigators at the ports to detect and respond to food safety problems, importers would, for the first time, be held accountable for verifying, in a manner transparent to the FDA, that the food they import is safe."
Hot sauce imported from Mexico was recently found to be contiminated with unsafe amounts of lead, a University Nevada press release reported.
A recent hepatitis A outbreak was linked to frozen berries imported from Egypt and Morocco, The Oregonian reported.
