The Food and Drug Administration has outlined new rules and regulations with regard to the quality of the food they import as well as new safety standards for produce grown within American farms. Some of these will take effect within a year.
Michael R. Taylor. FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine, said, "This the first time the food importers have fallen directly under F.D.A. regulation." The deputy commissioner cited the recent salmonella outbreak as an example of why these set of guidelines need to be implemented. "We think it's a big step forward," he said.
According to NYTimes, the new implemented rules require food brought to the United States meet American safety standards. Such a step is made possible with the help of third-party auditors who will check the safety of the food in foreign facilities.
Sandra Eskin, director of food safety at The Pew Charitable Trusts, told NBC News the rule means that "for the first time, we have nationwide enforceable safety standards for fruits and vegetables consumed raw."
Furthermore, David Plunkett, senior staff lawyer at the Center for Science in the Public Interest's food safety program, said, "These rules represent a lot of compromises. But imported food will at least now have someone who is responsible for assuring its safety. The bottom line is the food supply will be safer."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that germs in food make 48 million or 1 out of six Americans get sick every year. Of this figure, 128,000 are sick enough to be hospitalized while 3,000 die. The worst part of these contamination cases is that sources are often never identified.
As of present, producers and importers can do this voluntarily. However, with the new rules, it becomes mandatory for everyone.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that more than half of all fresh fruit and 22 percent of fresh vegetables are imported.
