FDA Beyond Our Borders
Each year, approximately $2 trillion worth of products enter the United States from more than 150 countries and territories around the world.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates a large number of these products and is responsible for ensuring that they meet U.S. standards for safety and quality and do not jeopardize the public health or national security.
The volume of imports regulated by FDA doubled in the last five years and it continues to multiply. This increasingly global economy presents new challenges and growing international work for the agency. To address these challenges, FDA launched an initiative called “Beyond Our Borders.”
FDA’s Beyond Our Borders initiative recognizes that
- many products come from countries with little ability to provide the regulatory oversight needed to assure the safety of the products exported
- lax oversight in many foreign places presents opportunities for products to be unintentionally contaminated, or intentionally contaminated by those who mean harm, by counterfeiters, or by those who try to profit by “cutting corners”
- working more closely with counterpart agencies in other countries allows FDA to be more efficient and thorough in performing its oversight responsibilities
FDA can better address international challenges to public health and national security by
- increasing collaboration with its foreign counterparts
- learning more about foreign exporters and their products
- providing technical assistance to foreign regulators and industries
- establishing overseas offices within some foreign countries
“Public health challenges know no borders, and public health officials and regulators must work together to address many of the public health and safety issues that confront us today,” says Murray M. Lumpkin, M.D., FDA’s deputy commissioner of international and special programs.
Grab a PDF copy of the complete report by the FDA.
