GMA calls on FDA to improve bioterrorism program

Food & Drink Weekly, July 19, 2004

GMA calls on FDA to improve bioterrorism program: The Grocery Manufacturers of America is calling on FDA to work more closely with food companies to assure that federal bioterrorism rules are implemented smoothly and effectively. The rules currently are being enforced in a so-called "educational phase" established to allow companies to become accustomed to the regulatory system.

One of the chief tools FDA will employ is the requirement that companies provide prior notice before importing foods. GMA complains that during the educational phase, FDA ruled that as many as 50,000 prior notices per week are incomplete, but has not notified importers why. "Companies, therefore, have no basis to determine whether their efforts to comply with the regulation have been successful," says FDA. Enforcement is scheduled Aug. 13 to move from the educational to the full enforcement phase.