FDA seeks to bolster food safety with US 2013 budget

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking $253m to boost its food safety budget for fiscal 2013, directed toward the Transforming Food Safety Initiative, a programme aimed at building a reliable food safety system.

According to the FDA, the budget, which is part of the 2013 White House budget unveiled on 13 February, will enable it to build and strengthen a prevention-focused domestic and import food safety system as outlined in the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

The FSMA, which was signed by President Obama in January 2011, aims to ensure safe food supply in the US by shifting the focus of federal regulators from responding to food safety problems to preventing them.

According to the agency’s projections, $220m will come from new fees for food facility registration, and the rest from existing food re-inspection and food recall fees.

The FDA, which has taken last year’s cantaloupe listeria outbreak in Colorado as an example of the need for a strong food-safety system, said that it is open to working with industry and consumer groups over the way the fees are charged and spent.

The budget also includes $10m to improve the FDA’s collaboration with the Chinese food safety agency in order to ensure the safety of imported food and drugs to the US.

The Fiscal Year (FY) FDA Congressional Justification document noted the resources in this initiative will promote public health in the US by boosting the safety of food supply in the US.

"Not funding this initiative will continue the pattern of recurring outbreaks and health risks from domestic and imported food, with the resulting disruptions to the food system and the economic burdens that result from food-borne outbreaks," the document says.

The agency’s overall budget is $4.5bn, a 17% increase over 2012, and is intended to support medical product development, protect patients and ensure the safety of food supply.

Caption: The proposed FY 2013 budget will enable the FDA to build and strengthen a prevention-focused domestic and import food safety system in the US. Foto: FDA