FDA pilot fishes for import safety answers

Six companies and government entities will participate in phase two of an FDA pilot program to assess the impact of voluntary third-party certification on import safety, FDA announces Dec. 2. The agency will apply lessons learned from the pilot, which concerns aquacultured shrimp, to other inspection areas, such as drug manufacturing facilities (1"The Tan Sheet" July 14, 2008, p. 13). FDA says the program advances the President's Action Plan for Import Safety and elements of FDA's Food Protection Plan. The government released both plans in November 2007