The Food and Drug Administration has the primary role in ensuring the nation’s food supply is safe. In December 2010, Congress enacted the Food Safety Modernization Act which changed many of the regulatory structures designed to protect the public from food borne illnesses. In addition, it also updated the FDA authority to regulate foods. These efforts were designed to prevent food borne outbreaks from occurring within the food industry.
Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D., Commissioner of Food and Drugs, says food borne illnesses strike an average of 48 million Americans each year, hospitalizing a hundred thousand and killing thousands. To counter these outbreaks, new methods of food safety are being practiced within the food industry.