This article reviews the steps that FDA has taken to ensure that the implementation of this important new program is successful. Standards of identity for poultry and meat products traditionally have been tools used by industry to police itself. They were created by industry, and enforced by government, to keep substandard quality products from entering the marketplace and undermining the position of higher-quality products. Today, standards are perceived by some individuals to be consumer protection measures. Processing and ingredient-use flexibility may be allowed while maintaining food safety levels and providing products that meet current nutritional demands.
Consumers vote with their dollars.
Products not meeting consumer expectations will be dropped from the marketplace. Moving away from strict adherence to standards, using wider varieties of ingredients, and allowing for processing flexibility to reach food safety targets will promote the development of products that more readily meet society's demands. The need for better regulatory control of commercial botanical raw material and herbal products is reflected in the variety of undertakings to produce monographs for the most prominent plants reputed to possess medicinal properties. Comprehensive monographs record traditional medicinal use and summarize scientific data in support of modern therapeutic claims. The most fundamental deficiency of the regulatory approach, particularly in North America, is a lack of organized programs to ensure the proper identity and quality of marketed plant products.