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Food Safety Regulations Applicable to Imported Foods, Page 1 of 2
< Previous page Next page > /docserver/preview/fulltext/10.1128/9781555815745/9781555814137_Chap02-1.gif /docserver/preview/fulltext/10.1128/9781555815745/9781555814137_Chap02-2.gifAbstract:
This chapter focuses on regulatory oversight of imported foods. Despite the long history, recent changes to bolster the authority of the agencies responsible for regulating imported food have been proposed. Hence, it is important to recognize that information presented in the chapter pertains to food safety regulations that were in effect as of October 2007. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) share primary responsibility for ensuring the safety of food imported into the United States. To gain an understanding of the food safety regulatory system for imported foods, first one must sort through the alphabet soup of agencies that enforce the regulations. Customs notifies FSIS and FDA of imported foods for the agencies’ review. The chapter describes the import process. Although FDA’s statutory authority is largely limited to inspections and tests of imported foods at the U.S. port of entry, with low-acid and acidified canned foods and infant formula, FDA may request that foreign exporting firms grant FDA inspectors access to their plants. The FDA must rely on inspections at the U.S. ports of entry to determine the safety of the imported foods. While the law requires that all imported foods meet the same food safety standards as foods produced in the United States do, recent events have raised questions about the adequacy of the regulation of imported foods.