The U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationFDA will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2006. In addition to a nation-wide program of commemorative events being held throughout the year, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration FDA has launched a special Web page on the Food and Drug Administration
website at:http://www.fda.gov/centennial. Also on the Food and Drug Administration website you will find the January-February 2006 issue of Food and Drug Administration's bimonthly publication, Food and Drugs Administration USA Consumer, that traces the agency's history from the passage of pure food and drug administration laws at the turn of the last century to the challenges posed today by cutting-edge sciences such as genomic and proteomics, and new initiatives like "personalized medicine."
The Food and Drug Administration dates its origin to June 1906, when President Teddy Roosevelt signed the Food and Drugs Act and entrusted implementation of this law to the Bureau of Chemistry of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Bureau, the oldest U.S. consumer protection office, eventually became the Food and Drugs Administration USA, an agency of the Department of Health
and Human Services.
Over the years, the Food and Drugs Administration has provided Americans with increasingly comprehensive, science-based protections that ensure the highest quality of products essential for health and survival. Today, these products represent almost 25% of all consumer spending and include 80% of the national food supply and all human drugs, vaccines, medical devices, tissues for transplantation, equipment that emits radiation, cosmetics, and animal drugs and food.
In 2001, the Food Drug Administration had a staff of approximately 9,100 employees comprising chemists, pharmacologists, physicians, microbiologists, veterinarians, pharmacists, lawyers, and many others. About one-third of the Food Drug Administration's employees are stationed outside of the Washington, D. C. area, staffing over 150 field offices and laboratories, including five regional offices and 20 district offices. The Food and Drugs Administration monitors the manufacture, import, transport, storage, and sale of about $1 trillion worth of products annually at a cost to taxpayers of about $3 per person. Investigators and inspectors visit more than 16,000 facilities a year, and arrange with state governments to help increase the number of facilities checked.
Food and drug administration organization has various components including:
*Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
*Drug Evaluation and Research
*Devices and Radiological Health
*Biologics Evaluation and Research
*Veterinary Medicine
*Field Operations/Regulatory Affairs
*Toxicological Research
While the list of components is quite explanatory, however, there is sometimes
confusion regarding the jurisdiction of the Food and drug administration.
The products not being regulated by FDA include, labeling and quality of alcoholic beverages, consumer products- including household goods, illegal drugs, meat and poultry, pesticides and water.
For further guidance, a detailed description of food and drug administration (fda)
functions and its roles are explained lucidly on its food and drug administration website-www.fda.gov.
Russell K. Statman, Esq., is a founder and Executive Director of FDA Registrar Corp., a firm providing registration, compliance assistance and U.S. Agent Services for the food and beverage, cosmetics and medical device industries. Mr. Statman is an attorney-at-law representing firms in FDA-regulated industries for the past eighteen years. Contact the author at: statman@fdaregistrar.com
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