Questions and Uncertainties on the Full Implementation of FSMA

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In his lecture, Professor Brackett discussed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the most comprehensive overhaul of U.S. food safety laws in over 70 years. The provisions of the law provide for new authorities for the FDA, new requirements for the regulated food industry, and new controls on importing food products into the U.S. Since passage of FSMA, pundits and agency-watchers have attempted to sort out how implementing the new law will impact not only the food industry, but the agency itself. Although uncertainties and questions existed regarding virtually all aspects of FSMA, several were illustrative of the scope and breadth of these questions. One of the most obvious and concerning questions revolves around whether the FDA, widely acknowledged to already be grossly underfunded and understaffed, would have sufficient resources to actually implement and enforce the new law and regulations.