March 5, 2019 — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a plan to boost the safety of food that is imported to the United States from other countries.
In February, FDA published the “Strategy for the Safety of Imported Food” to outline their plan to improve the safety of imported food.
The FDA is responsible for overseeing the safety of the imported food supply, which involved nearly 14 million shipments in 2018. Food shipments are expected to increase in 2019, with the U.S. importing about 15% of its overall food supply from around 200 other countries.
The food itself must be tested for contaminants like Salmonella, E. Coli, and Listeria monocytogenes. FDA must also inspect foreign food growers, processors, packers, and suppliers.
It is an enormous job — about 94% of seafood, 32% of vegetables, and 55% of fruit eaten in the U.S. is imported from other countries.
With the Food Safety Modernization Act, lawmakers are shifting food safety oversight at the FDA from a reactive to a proactive role.
That means the FDA will be able to mandate standards that are equal to standards in the U.S. on international food suppliers.
FDA has also outlined a plan to improve the food safety of imported food, such as:
- Using foreign facility inspectors when possible
- Mandating U.S. food safety standards on foreign suppliers
- Allowing 3rd-party audits if they meet U.S. requirements
- Sharing data with foreign regulatory agencies on food and facility oversight
- Increasing compliance by providing training/outreach to foreign importers
Do I have a Food Poisoning Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting food poisoning induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know got sick in an outbreak of food poisoning, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Food Poisoning Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
Attention Lawyers: We consider a referral from another law firm to be one of the greatest compliments. If your firm is interested in referring us a case or for us to send you a list of previous award judgments and/or average referral fees, please visit the Lawyer Referral section of our website.
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC has been recognized as one of the nation’s leading plaintiffs' law firms and handles cases in all 50 states. We are very proud of our legal achievements, but equally self-respecting of our firm's reputation for providing personal attention to each and every client we represent.
