| Description |
1 online resource (ii, 34 pages) : illustrations |
| System Details |
System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. |
|
Mode of access: World Wide Web. |
| Note |
Title from title screen (viewed on Nov. 29, 2011). |
|
"October 2011." |
| File Type |
Text in PDF format. |
| Summary |
In recent years, the United States experienced public health crises suspected to have been caused by the deliberate substitution or addition of harmful ingredients in food and drugs -- specifically melamine in pet food and oversulfated chondroitin sulfate in the blood thinner heparin. These ingredients were evidently added to increase the apparent value of these products or reduce their production costs, an activity GAO refers to as economic adulteration. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has responsibility for protecting public health by ensuring the safety of a wide range of products that are vulnerable to economic adulteration. This report examines (1) the approaches that FDA uses to detect and prevent economic adulteration of food and medical products and (2) the challenges FDA faces in detecting and preventing economic adulteration and views of stakeholders on options for FDA to enhance its efforts to address economic adulteration. GAO reviewed FDA documents and interviewed FDA officials and stakeholders from academia and industry, among others. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references. |
| Note |
"GAO-12-46." |
| Subject |
Food adulteration and inspection -- United States.
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Drug adulteration -- United States -- Prevention.
|
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United States. Food and Drug Administration -- Rules and practice.
|
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Food contamination -- Prevention.
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Public health -- United States.
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Consumer protection -- United States.
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United States. Food and Drug Administration. |
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Food Contamination -- legislation & jurisprudence -- United States. |
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Food Contamination -- prevention & control -- United States. |
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Food Safety -- methods -- United States. |
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Public Health -- United States. |
| Added Title |
Better coordination could enhance efforts to address economic adulteration and protect the public health |
| Running Title |
Economic adulteration |
| Gpo Item No. |
0546-D (online) |
| Sudoc No. |
GA 1.13:GAO-12-46 |
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