FDA Wants $4 Billion for Food Safety

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is requesting $4.03 billion to transform food-safety practices, improve medical product safety, protect patients and modernize FDA regulatory science to advance public health. The request is part of President Obama’s fiscal year 2011 budget—a 23-percent increase over the agency’s current $3.28 billion budget.

The proposed budget includes $318.3 million in support for the Transforming Food Safety Initiative that reflects President Obama’s vision of a new food-safety system to protect the American public. FDA will set standards for safety, expand laboratory capacity, pilot track and trace technology, strengthen its import safety program, improve data collection and risk analysis and begin to establish an integrated national food-safety system with strengthened inspection and response capacity.

“The FY 2011 resources will strengthen our ability to act as a strong and smart regulator, protecting Americans through every stage of life, many times each day,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, MD. “This budget supports the ability for patients and families to realize the benefits of science that are yielding revolutionary advances in the life and biomedical sciences.”