DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION

Office of Public Affairs

5600 Fishers Lane

Rockville, MD 20857

Publication No. FS 01-2

FDA Web site: www.fda.gov

Revised: February 2002

Keeping the Nation’s

Food Supply Safe:

FDA’s Big Job Done Well

The FDA’s Center for Food

Safety and Applied Nutrition

(CFSAN) has one of the agency’s

biggest jobs: it is responsible for

the safety of 80 percent of all

food consumed in the United

States—the entire food supply

except for meat, poultry and some

egg products, which are regulated

by the U.S. Department of

Agriculture. Each year, about

$240 billion worth of this

cornucopia comes from America’s

orchards, farms, lakes, and oceans,

and passes through 50,000 food

manufacturers, processors and

warehouses. In addition, $15

billion worth of seafood, fresh

produce and other foods are

imported from every part of the

globe.

Although the U.S. food supply is

among the safest in the world,

foodborne illness has been

estimated to cause approximately

76 million illnesses, 325,000

hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths a

year in the United States. CFSAN

is advancing several programs to

lower these figures. For example,

it has pioneered widespread use of

the Hazard Analysis and Critical

Control Point (HACCP) system,

which places preventive controls

at the most contamination-prone

points in the production process.

HACCP is required for the

processing of seafood and has

been incorporated into the Food

Code for state health authorities.

HACCP requirements were

established for fruit and

vegetable juice production in

January 2001.

In addition, CFSAN’s food

scientists have developed rapid

methods for the detection of

microbial and viral food

contaminants, and the FDA

works closely with public- and

private-sector partners to

complete and operate two

nationwide high-tech systems for

rapid identification and control

of outbreaks of foodborne

diseases. Together with the

FDA’s efforts to promote safe

food-handling practices in

American homes and restaurants,

these measures have reduced

illnesses caused by the most

common foodborne pathogens

20 percent from 1997 to 1999.

The FDA also plays a leading

role in protecting the Nation’s

food against bioterrorism.

Following the attacks on

September 11, 2001, the FDA

has received additional resources

for a major strengthening of its

staff of food inspectors, lab

specialists, and equipment; it has

requested new authorities to

prevent the distribution of

suspect food imports; and it has

helped develop guidances to

minimize the risk of terrorist

contamination of food.

For more information, please

call CFSAN at 1-888-

SAFEFOOD (1-888-723-3366)

or visit the FDA Web site at

www.cfsan.fda.gov.

The Safety of Genetically

Engineered Foods

The vast majority of foods developed

using the tools of modern biotechnology—also called bioengineering—that

the FDA has evaluated have not raised

issues that would require premarket

review and approval. To ensure that the

FDA is fully aware of these products, the

agency has proposed to make obligatory

the current voluntary system under which

food developers have consulted with the

FDA before introducing their genetically

modified products on the market. In the

roughly 50 voluntary consultations done

so far, the FDA’s scientists were

confident that the new foods contained

no new allergens, no increased levels of

toxicants and no unapproved food

additives, and that important nutrients

were not altered—in short, that these

foods are as safe and wholesome as their

conventional counterparts. The FDA is

confident that the bioengineered foods

reviewed under its system so far are safe

for consumers.