FDA's Global Initiative; FDA Across the Globe

Global Initiative

Global production of FDA-regulated products has quadrupled over the last decade and continues to grow.  Today, FDA-regulated products originate from more than 150 countries, 130,000 importers and 300,000 foreign facilities.

Almost 40 percent of the fruits and nuts and 85 percent of the seafood consumed in America comes from abroad.  Similarly, more than 80 percent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients used to make medicines are imported. The growth in imports has been rapid and promises to accelerate.

Globalization has fundamentally altered the economic and security landscape and demands a major change in the way FDA fulfills its mission.  Over the next decade, FDA will transform from a predominantly domestically-focused agency operating in a globalized economy to a modern public health regulatory agency fully prepared for a complex globalized regulatory environment.

The agency is already working to increase transparency and accountability in the supply chain, developing better enforcement and regulatory tools, encouraging greater responsibility by industry, and enhancing collaboration with international regulatory counterparts and other third parties.

As our world transforms and becomes increasingly globalized, it is vital that we come together as a global community – in new, unprecedented, and even unexpected ways – to build a public health safety net for consumers around the world.
 

• More information on Global Operations

FDA has established international offices and posted staff in strategic locations around the world. They work closely with their national and regional regulatory counterparts, and with other U.S. government agencies stationed abroad, to perform functions essential to FDA’s ability to protect U.S. consumers. Learn more about FDA’s international offices and posts.

This article found on FDA;s website here.