The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is highlighting its efforts to ensure the safety of imported foods with a novel approach to international partnerships. FDA has announced that it is piloting a new way of collaborating with foreign regulatory bodies, called regulatory partnerships, with shrimp as the focus of the project. Regulatory partnerships will align with FDA’s New Era of Smarter Food Safety by improving global information-sharing.
FDA is guided by the FDA Strategy for the Safety of Imported Food, which emphasizes the use of preventative measures. Tools currently used by FDA to control unsafe imported foods include partnerships with foreign stakeholders, such as cooperative arrangements, confidentiality commitments, and systems recognition. The new partnerships will establish forums with other countries to discuss how U.S. and foreign regulatory bodies can work together effectively to strengthen the enforcement of food safety controls for specific goods.