US moots FDA-like agency

The US has proposed to help India in developing an agency in the lines of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This was put forward by Mike Leavitt, the US Secretary of Health and Human Services, who is on a visit to the state.

Stressing on the need for upgrading standards for food products exported to the US, Leavitt said that the Indian government cannot alone set standards and implement it.

The US has in the past rejected many Indian consignments on the grounds of not meeting the food standards. The country has been facing the problem from the European Union Commission also.

The quality of various ingredients used in food items and drugs is one of the top priorities of the US administration, he said, especially since the US imports a large amount of food products and ingredients from various countries.

The total annual import bill for food and food-related items to the US was around $2 trillion, which makes food security a top priority, he said, addressing a press conference near Kochi.

"Wednesday's global trade is free, open and transparent. We should develop a system to ensure the safety of food and drugs. A universal standard for food safety is inevitable," he said.

"The development of such a system is not a simple task. But negotiations between various countries should be evolved to develop such a system. There should be a system to trace the various ingredients used in flour, sugar etc, which are being imported from various countries. This can be coined as cake to tree tracing system," he added.

He said the government to government dialogue on the issue between India and the US was vibrant and Washington would consider assisting India in developing a agency in the lines of FDA.

But governments alone cannot set standards and implement it. The complete supply chain should be associated with the development of food standards. The US administration was working in association with various agencies including retail food chains to ensure the safety of food and drugs, he said.

Answering a query on anti-dumping duties imposed on various Indian products in the US, he said the decision on this issue was taken jointly by various agencies, including the Department of Commerce, customs and FDA.

Leavitt visited the plants of Synthite Group of Companies and AVT Mc Cormik at Vazhakulam, near here as part of his mission to identify key areas of quality concerns in the food and drugs industry.

As the chairman of the import safety working group, a presidential cabinet-level forum, he is heading a team which is to recommend a prevention focused model to ensure safety of food items imported to the US. Andrew von Eschenbach, commissioner, FDA and David Hopper, Consul General of US Embassy, accompanied him.