Public Hearing on Partnerships to Enhance the Safety of Imported Foods
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration held a public hearing on February 14-15, 2017, in College Park, Maryland, regarding strategic partnerships to enhance the safety of food imported into the United States.
FDA recognizes the importance of strengthening the existing collaborations among food safety regulators (federal, state, local, territorial, tribal and foreign) to achieve public health goals. The public hearing provided an opportunity for FDA to receive input from stakeholders as it develops, expands, and refines partnership activities related to imported foods. The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) has provided FDA with new authorities to help ensure that imported foods meet the same safety standards as foods produced domestically. While the FSMA regulations are not the subject of this public hearing, the initiatives that will be discussed align with and support FSMA implementation.
The hearing focused on obtaining information on the role of partnerships:
- To build food safety capacity in other countries.
- To help operationalize the concept of “same level of public health protection” in relation to FDA’s hazard analysis, preventive controls and produce safety requirements.”
- To enhance risk-based decision making through the consideration of private standards, the recognition of commodity-specific export programs, and the implementation of the existing systems recognition program.
Hearing Information
- Federal Register Notice Announcing the Public Hearing
- Agenda (PDF: 413KB)
- Biographies of Speakers and Panelists (PDF: 311KB)
- Biographies of Guest Presenters (PDF: 314KB)