At the many remote crossings along the Canadian and Mexican borders, FDA relies on the Customs Service for help in identifying suspicious products. On a normal workday, about 200 to 300 FDA inspectors, laboratory analysts, and compliance officers handle imports. State regulatory agencies also cooperate with FDA on import surveillance. State inspectors examine certain products once they're on the U.S. market and share information with other state officials and federal regulators. The Association of Food and Drug Officials, an organization of federal and state officials, is setting up a committee to explore how FDA and its state counterparts can work together to regulate imports more effectively.
Inspections Inspecting and sampling imported goods is at the heart of import operations.
Inspections have become more complex and time-consuming, not only because the volume of imports is increasing, but also because the nature of the products is changing. Mary Ayling, acting director of FDA's import policy and enforcement branch, began her career with the agency as an inspector in Oregon. In those days you might inspect one or two bulk shipments, looking for chemical contamination among the burlap bags or rodent droppings in the hold. They'd bring the whole family and make a little nest. The new kinds of products made it necessary to conduct a different kind of inspection, looking for different signs of problems.