U.S., Mexico, sign agreement on enhanced food safety partnership
The Food and Drug Administration and its counterparts in Mexico are taking steps to strengthen collaboration on food safety, from outbreak investigations to training and outbreak prevention measures.
The FDA had a ceremony to commemorate the signing of a Statement of Intent to enhance the Food Safety Partnership between the U.S. and Mexico. The statement strengthens the scope of an existing Produce Safety Partnership the countries signed in 2014, according to an FDA news release.
With the Food Safety Partnership, the produce agreement extends to all foods regulated by the FDA.
The partnership between the FDA, and Mexico’s SENASICA and COFERIS supports the use of new technology and enhances collaboration with other partners in the U.S. and Mexico, according to the release.
The Food Safety Partnership’s goal is to strengthen collaboration on:
- Outbreak response
- Laboratory collaboration
- Prevention
- Outreach and training.
“The Food Safety Partnership aligns with the aims of the FDA’s New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint, announced earlier this summer, with its approach to food safety through the Blueprint’s four core elements of tech-enabled traceability, smarter tools and approaches for prevention and outbreak response, new business models and business modernization and food safety culture,” according to the release.
The U.S. already has “systems recognition” agreements on food safety with Australia, Canada and New Zealand, which leads to regulatory cooperation between the FDA and similar agencies in those countries.
