Spotlight: Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Food and Drug Administration

Oversees
All domestic and imported food sold in interstate commerce, including shell eggs, but not meat and poultry, Bottled water, Wine beverages with less than 7 percent alcohol

Food Safety Role
1. Enforces food safety laws governing domestic and imported food, except meat and poultry, by:
Inspecting food production establishments and food warehouses and collecting and analyzing samples for physical, chemical and microbial contamination
2. Reviewing safety of food and color additives before marketing
3. Reviewing animal drugs for safety to animals that receive them and humans who eat food produced from the animals
4. Monitoring safety of animal feeds used in food-producing animals
5. Developing model codes and ordinances, guidelines and interpretations and working with states to implement them in regulating milk and shellfish and retail food establishments, such as restaurants and grocery stores. An example is the model 6. Food Code, a reference for retail outlets and nursing homes and other institutions on how to prepare food to prevent food-borne illness.
7. Establishing good food manufacturing practices and other production standards, such as plant sanitation, packaging requirements, and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point programs
8. Working with foreign governments to ensure safety of certain imported food products
9. Requesting manufacturers to recall unsafe food products and monitoring those recalls
10. Taking appropriate enforcement actions
11. Conducting research on food safety
12. Educating industry and consumers on safe food handling practices

For More Information

Consumers: Call toll-free 1-888-INFO-FDA (1-888-463-6332).

Regional FDA offices, listed in the blue pages of the phone book under U.S. Government

Media inquiries: 202-205-4144

Consumers:
FDA's Outreach and Information Center
1-888-SAFEFOOD (1-888-723-3366)

www.cfsan.fda.gov/list.html
www.fda.gov/cvm/

via FDA