FDA announces new steps to strengthen the agency’s process for issuing public warnings and notifications of recalls
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it is taking new steps to strengthen and modernize the process for issuing a public warning about a voluntary recall and for notification of recalls.
FDA said is collaborates with most companies and their supply chain partners to quickly initiate voluntary recalls and eliminate the product from shelves and stop further distribution. Those steps are generally effective, said the FDA, but sometimes the agency will need to provide safety advice to the marketplace to protect consumers.
Last January the FDA released draft guidance for strengthening public warnings and notifications of recalls – the first in a series of policy steps to provide consumers with information to protect themselves and their families.
FDA has already issued alerts or consumer warnings related to products such as Kellogg’s Honey Smacks, recalled vegetables, romaine lettuce, angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) drugs valsartan, losartan and irbesartan, and King Bio homeopathic products. In April 2018, FDA also issued the first mandatory recall order for kratom products. Last summer the agency released detailed retail distribution information by state during a recall of pre-cut melon associated with an outbreak of Salmonella infections.
Furthermore, the FDA said Whole Genome Sequencing, or DNA fingerprinting, has allowed federal, state and local health officials to detect related illnesses, match them more often with a food product, facility or environment, and trace the contamination to the source.
Other developments include:
- Evaluating how new technologies might be used to notify consumers if they’ve purchased a product that is later recalled
- FDA labs are currently testing cutting-edge technology that can screen for multiple allergens simultaneously
- Technology that shrinks the genetic testing of pathogens from machines that were once the size of an entire room to a device that’s smaller than many smart phones
- Working to improve product traceability by tapping into blockchain technology
