Several health advocacy groups have written a letter, asking Congress to add $50 million to the FDA’s fiscal year 2015 budget to full fund implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 (FSMA). FDA has estimated that it needs an additional $300 million over the next few years to fully implement the law, which was the first reform of the nation’s food safety regulations in years.
FDA is finalizing the rules of the law and is building the systems needed to implement it. FSMA changed FDA’s approach to food safety, focusing the agency’s efforts on preventing food safety problems before they occur rather than reacting to illnesses and outbreaks after they occur. The comprehensive food import oversight system section of FSMA is a first, making importer responsible for the safety of food they bring into the country.
In September 2014, U.S. Representatives Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Sam Farr (D-CA) called on the Office of Management and Budget at the White House to request higher budgets for FSMA implementation. The White House is recommending using user feeds as funding for the law instead of budget increases. In June 2013, a federal judge ordered the FDA to complete all FSMA rules, which had been delayed for years, by June 2015.
Organizations that signed the letter include Pew Charitable Trusts, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Public Health Association. Sixteen organizations signed the letter.
