Establishing a Food Defense Plan

The FDA has been given the authority to issue a food recall directly, without the requirement for hard evidence of contamination. The agency is now empowered to seize food that it has any reason to believe is contaminated, adulterated, or misbranded. This change was designed to focus the FDA on prevention, moving away from its current reactive role. If the FDA issues a food recall, it also has power to suspend any food facility’s production should the agency decide that there is an associated health risk. Suspended facilities cannot distribute food, and the FDA may impose suspension or recall fees on the company.

Rather than establishing a single regulatory body, let’s create a foodborne illness database

Full impact of decision not considered