I’m speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival: Health. I’ll be interviewed by Helena Bottemiller Evich of FoodFix from 9:00 to 9:50 a.m.. Topic: “Making sense of nutrition science.”
The FDA has just released a classy new report on Global Engagement, summarizing its efforts to deal with issues raised by the globalization of drugs, medical devices, and foods.
This is a big deal. In 2009, 300,000 foreign facilities in more than 150 countries exported $2 trillion worth of FDA-regulated products to the United States.
Given these numbers alone, the FDA has some challenges.
In 2011, one out of every six FDA-regulated food products in the U.S. came from abroad. Imports of fresh fruits, vegetables, coffee, tea, and cocoa have more than doubled since 2000.
We import:
As the report explains,
To deal with this problem, the FDA has opened offices in:
The FDA seems seriously concerned about its global initiatives and the safety problems posed by our globalized food supply.
The volume seems impossible to manage. Let’s hope the FDA’s efforts do some good.