The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has revealed it has received an additional US$125m to enhance food protection in fiscal year 2008 by expanding its workforce, according to a report in The Packer.
The funding is separate to the US$48m the FDA has already allocated for the Food Protection Plan this year, the agency’s chief of staff Susan Winckler told delegates at the Fresh Express Fresh Produce Safety Research Conference held on 11 September in California.
According to Ms Winckler, the FDA is to hire 130 additional inspectors and aims to do a better job in terms of working with the industry on traceback issues, particularly in the way the agency announces recalls on its website.
“We can’t prevent everything, but we do need to establish a baseline so we can respond when there is an incident,” Ms Winckler said.
She added that the FDA will operate offices in four regions around the world by the end of the year to accommodate the volume of produce imported into the US.
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