Transcript Risk Communicaton Advisory Committee Establishment Workgroup

FDA Foods Program Update
Comments by
Stephen F. Sundlof, D.V.M., Ph.D
Director, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
Conference for Food Protection
Providence, Rhode Island
April 10, 2010
“The Food Safety Working Group will bring
together cabinet secretaries and senior
officials to advise me on how we can
upgrade our food safety laws for the 21st
century; foster coordination throughout
government; and ensure that we are not
just designing laws that will keep the
American people safe, but enforcing them."
President Obama,
3/14/09 Radio Address
3 Core Food Safety Principles
1. Preventing harm to consumers is our first
priority.
2. Effective food safety inspections and
enforcement depend upon good data
and analysis.
3. Outbreaks of foodborne illness should be
identified quickly and stopped.
FDA Office of Foods and
Deputy Commissioner for Foods
• The President’s Food Safety Working
Group called for the establishment of a
Deputy Commissioner for Foods position
to enhance food safety at FDA
• Dr. Hamburg has charged the Office of
Foods and the Deputy Commissioner for
Foods -- Michael R. Taylor -- with the
responsibility of leading a functionally
unified FDA Foods Program
“One Mission, One Program”
Initiative
To provide vision, strategy and commitment
across all of the FDA to build a unified FDA
Foods Program that works effectively to
prevent foodborne illness and improve
nutrition in a dynamic and innovative U.S.
food marketplace and increasingly complex
food system.
“One Mission, One Program”
Launch
• This Initiative involves nearly 100 experts
from throughout FDA who are charged
with tackling cross-cutting issues critical to
our success.
• From those in the field, to the lab, to the
office, we are working together to
modernize our food safety program.
“One Mission, One Program”
Launch
Core Groups are identifying key interdependencies, synergy and gaps in 10
areas:
1. Preventive Controls
2. Risk-Based Decisionmaking
3. Inspection & Compliance
Strategy
4. Import Safety
5. Federal/State Integration
6. Information Systems
7. Incident Preparedness &
Response
8. Science, Technology &
Research Integration
9. Strategic Communication
10.Resource Planning
New FDA Authorities?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Mandatory preventive controls
Performance standards authority
Risk-based inspection schedule
Records access
Product tracing
Administrative detention
Mandatory recall authority
Importer controls
Integrated National Food Safety System
• Develop standards to ensure consistency
• Train and certify a highly skilled workforce
• Work across jurisdictions to ensure
protection of the entire food supply from
farm to table
• Create mechanisms for data sharing
• Ensure use of quality systems
• Build oversight and accountability
An Integrated Food Safety System
will result in:
• National Standards
– Uniform inspectional coverage and sample
collection and analysis
– Greater use of each other’s analysis and
observations in protecting public health
• National Work Plan
– Improved targeting of resources
– Expanded inspections and sample collection
coverage
An Integrated Food Safety System
will result in:
• Training and Certification Programs
– High level of scientific quality in data
collection and inspections
– Consistent best-practice approaches and
capacity across state and local agencies
• Laboratory Program
– Consistent and meaningful data for
compliance, surveillance, and environmental
samples
An Integrated Food Safety System
will result in:
• Integrated Response
– Coordinated, faster and more effective
response to food safety events
• Program Oversight
– Auditing to ensure performance meets the
program standards
What is necessary for success?
• Support from stakeholders
• Engagement from partners
• Multi-year investment
- Federal - Local - Territorial
- State
- Tribal
• Information sharing infrastructure
Summary of the Change
• Build on current collaborations
• Provide stronger, more uniform coverage
from farm to table
• Maintain credibility through oversight
• Sustain public health infrastructure through
multi-year investment
Outcome: Reduced incidence of foodborne
illness
Strengthening Focus on Nutrition
• Nutritional efforts to reduce the risk of
such illnesses as heart disease, diabetes,
and stroke and address the epidemic of
obesity
• Give consumers better, easier-to-use
information
• Reduce misleading, confusing information
• Motivate industry to offer healthier food
choices
Nutrition Initiative
• Better Nutrition Information
– Targeted enforcement of violative front of package (FOP)
claims
– Nutrition Facts Panel Modernization
•
•
•
•
Calories
Serving Size
% Daily Value
Sugar
– Dietary Guidance Proposed Rule
– FOP Symbols
• Sodium Reduction
• Trans Fat Reduction
Health Care Reform
• Requires chain restaurants to post calorie
counts on menus, menu boards and drivethrough displays, as well as on vending
machines.
• The federal legislation applies to chains
with 20 or more outlets; the law also
requires the chains to provide additional
nutrition information on request.
Produce Safety
• Issued draft commodity-specific guidances (leafy
greens, melons, tomatoes) – July 2009
• Established public docket – February 2010
(75 FR 8086)
• Participating in regional listening sessions and
other engagements
• Drafting a proposal to establish safety standards
through regulation
Revisions to Current Good
Manufacturing Practice Regulations
● Working group formed and codified text and
●
●
●
preamble development underway
Writers and economists making visits to
industry to learn more about how 21 CFR 110
is currently being translated into corporate
policy and implemented by industry
FDA grateful for all of the willing assistance
received from industry
Food GMP survey
Product Tracing for Foods
• A top priority for the Administration and for
Congress
• FDA/USDA joint public docket (11/09)
• FDA/USDA joint public meeting (12/09)
• 2 IFT Reports released in 12/09 -- Industry
“best practices” and tomato traceback
exercise
• Next steps: Evaluate feedback and affect of
legislation, if enacted
Retail Food Regulatory Program
Standards
• 363 Enrollees
• >93% of US Population reside in a State with at
least one enrolled State-level Agency
• 50% of US Population reside where the Local
Agency has enrolled or where there is no local
program and the State is enrolled
• In 2009-2010 FDA provides $550,000 to
enrollees to promote progress on Program
Standards implementation
Emphasis on Employee Health and
Hygiene at Retail
• Enhancements to the Food Code over the years
• Employee Health & Personal Hygiene Handbook
– Available in hard copy and online (www.fda.gov)
• Satellite Broadcast and Webcast – May 27, 2010
– “Using Employee Health and Personal Hygiene
Measures”
• Educational Materials for Oral Culture Learners
– Posters, exercises & storyboards directed at
foodworkers
“The challenges of the Foods Program have never
been as great as they are today. They are inherent
in the complexity and dynamism of the global food
system and are reflected in the growing scope and
impact of illness outbreaks and contamination incidents
affecting food and feed. Further, nutrition-related public
health challenges, such as obesity and diet-related
chronic disease, complicate food policy decision making.
Finally, the steady stream of new food technologies and
new manufacturing and marketing practices and the
flood of food imports constantly change the food
supply.”
FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg
12/15/09 Memo to Foods Program
Management and Staff