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FDA seeks more money to bankroll food safety initiative |
02.05.2010
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WASHINGTON-On the heels of President Obama's State of the Union address where he asked Congress to freeze discretionary spending and to create a bipartisan committee to recommend ways to cut the deficit, the Food and Drug Administration is asking for a 23 percent budget increase.
For the president's fiscal year budget for 2011, the Food and Drug Administration is requesting $4.03 billion-versus the current $3.28 billion budget.
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According to a Feb. 1 FDA statement, most of the budget increase-$318.3 million-is earmarked for "transforming food safety."
The Transforming Food Safety Initiative "reflects President Obama's vision of a new food safety system to protect the American public," according to an FDA statement.
With an increase in funds, the 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."
Funding for three other areas including protecting patients, an increase of $100.8 million; advancing regulatory science, a jump of $25 million; and tobacco, an increase of $215 million. An increase in tobacco use fees will allow the FDA to continue to implement the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, according to the statement.
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