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【Food Safety News】通过一体化为食品安全生产铺平道路
发布时间：2016/04/22
通过一体化为食品安全生产铺平道路
作者：Michael Taylor Stephen Ostroff
来源：Food Safety News
发表时间：2016年4月2日
作者注：Michael R. Taylor，美国食药局食品与兽医学副局长
Stephen Ostroff，美食药局前代理局长，已任命从6月1日起接任Taylor
上述两名作者合作完成本篇文章。
自2011年美国食药局《食品安全现代法案》实施以来，我们曾说过，正是因为食药局与国家政府相关部门的重要合作关系，法案才得以顺利实施。这在食品安全生产监管这一新领域尤其重要。
经过几年的设计、讨论、修改制定法规，食药局与政府部门间的合作关系不再仅仅是个空想。相反，它已发展成涵盖国家及联邦层面公共健康和监管同僚的真正联盟，他们一起采取具体措施保障《食品安全现代法案》预先设想——安全生产——变成事实。
3月22日我们在佛罗里达州奥兰多市参加的会议就是这一进步的例子。会议中，国家农业部协会披露了为国家参与推动食药局新的安全生产规定所提出的拟议框架。该项规定首次为农场生产与收获的农产品建立联邦安全标准。
2014年，食药局同国家农业部协会签署了为期五年的合作协议，与国家合作伙伴一起致力于推动安全生产规定的实施。国家农业部协会提出的框架将协助指导和通知致力于开展符合《食品安全现代法案》的国家安全生产规章项目的州。
国家农业部协会所提框架在24个州级农业部门及5个国家公众健康组织的积极参与下不断发展，涉及教育与合规、信息共享、监管者培训、获取实验资源、技术支持及基础设施等重点领域。
所有50个州均出席了奥兰多市的会议，评论、讨论拟议框架，国家农业部协会希冀随着安全生产规定的实施，经验不断积累，可不断修订与改进该框架。包括46个农业部门及19个公众健康部门的会议参与者的热情得以激发，并表示同各州同僚开展可持续的合作关系是非常正确的道路。
各州同僚同我们交谈时，亦或我们同国会交谈时，都明确表示联邦资金是工作开展的必要前提。国家农业及公众健康人员同当地农场社区建立关系，获取实践知识，并提供有效监督。但是几乎所有的州在构建安全生产项目时很大程度上甚至完全是从头做起。我们希望依赖他们，不仅仅是提供教育和技术支持，并且提供持续的合规性支持和监督。
但这需要资源。
总统在2017年度财务预算要求中包括为国家统一食品安全体系新设立1130万美元基金。我们已经建立该体系，充分整合了超过3000个州、地方及地区政府机构参与食药局食品安全工作，以达到《食品安全现代法案》的要求。国会考虑将2017年度财务预算资金通过合作协议及授权模式主要用于支持国家安全生产项目。
2017年度财务预算资金的制定考量于国会2016年度为《食品安全现代法案》的实施所提供的财务支持力度。本月初，在分配这些资金上我们迈出了重要一步，通过同国家监管机构申请合作协议的方式将1900万美元用于支持国家安全生产项目。这些资金将为有能力的州在安全生产过程中成为《食品安全现代法案》全面合作伙伴提供重要的前期资金。2017年度财务预算资金的需求认为无论明年还是后年都需要更多的资金来实现这一目标。
目前各州规划及发展其安全生产项目的进展有很大差异。一些州可能已设计了多层级计划并准备开始实施。其他州可能刚开始考虑面前的路。设计本项目就是给予各州支持，无论他们处于哪一阶段。
我们的目标是本财政年度结束之前，将初期资金分配至部分州。
这是一条漫长之路。但是对拥有适当的食品安全体系这一最终目标而言我们确有动力。在这食品安全体系中，各层级政府机构相互合作，并同农民开展合作，确保我们可以尽最大努力防止或减少食源性疾病的风险。安全、随处可得的产品对消费者、公众健康及种植者来说都是极好的。这就是为什么我们在一起合作的原因。
Paving a path to safer produce via
integration
Ever since the FDA Food Safety
Modernization Act (FSMA) was enacted in 2011, we’ve said that successful
implementation is not possible without a meaningful partnership between FDA and
its counterparts in state government. This is especially critical in the new
area of produce safety regulation.
After years of rulemaking – of
planning, discussing and revising – this partnership is no longer just an
aspiration. Instead, it’s evolving into a real union of public health and
regulatory colleagues at the state and federal levels who together are taking
concrete steps to make the produce safety protections envisioned by FSMA a
reality.
An example of this forward movement
is a conference we both attended on March 22 in Orlando, FL, where the National
Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) unveiled its proposed
framework for state participation in the implementation of FDA’s new produce safety rule.
This rule — for the first time — establishes enforceable federal safety
standards for the production and harvesting of produce on farms.
In 2014, FDA entered into a five-year
cooperative agreement with NASDA to work with state partners to collaboratively
plan implementation of the produce rule. The NASDA framework will help guide
and inform states that are working to develop a state produce safety regulatory
program that is aligned with the FSMA rule.
The NASDA framework was developed
with the active involvement of 24 state departments of agriculture and five
national public health organizations. Key areas addressed include education and
compliance, information sharing, regulator training, accessing laboratory
resources, technical assistance, and infrastructure.
All 50 states were represented at the
Orlando meeting to review and discuss the proposed framework, which is intended
by NASDA to be a living document that can be refined and improved over time as
experience is gained with implementation of the produce safety rule. The level
of alignment and energy among participants at the conference – which included
46 agriculture departments and 19 public health departments – was inspiring and
demonstrates that we are very much on the right path toward a sustained
partnership with our state colleagues.
The states have always been clear in
conversations with us, and we have been clear in conversations with Congress,
that federal funding is necessary for the work ahead. State agriculture and
public health personnel are the ones who have built relationships with and
knowledge of local farming communities and practices and can often deliver
oversight most efficiently. But almost all states will have to build produce
safety programs largely or completely from scratch. We want to rely on them,
not only to deliver education and technical assistance, but also to provide
ongoing compliance support and oversight.
But this requires resources.
The President’s Fiscal Year 2017
budget request includes $11.3 million in new funds for the National Integrated
Food Safety System. We have been building this system to fully integrate the
more than 3,000 state, local and tribal government agencies involved in food
safety in FDA’s work to meet the FSMA mandate. The FY 2017 funding, which
Congress is considering, will be used primarily to support state produce safety
programs through cooperative agreements and grants.
The FY 2017 funding builds upon
resources for states that Congress provided for FSMA implementation in FY 2016.
Earlier this month we took an important step toward distributing these funds –
$19 million – to support state produce safety programs by soliciting
applications for cooperative agreements with state regulatory agencies. These
funds will make an important down payment on the capacity states need to be our
full FSMA partners in produce safety. The FY 2017 funding request recognizes
that more will be needed – both next year and beyond — to realize this goal.
There is a great diversity in where
states are right now in planning and developing their produce safety programs.
Some may already have developed multi-tiered plans and are ready to begin
implementing. Others may just be starting to consider what’s ahead. This
program is designed to give states the support they need at whatever stage
they’re in.
Our goal is to get the initial
funding to a number of states before the end of this fiscal year.
This has been a long road. But we are
gaining real momentum toward the ultimate goal of having a food safety system
in place in which government agencies at all levels are working in partnership
with each other – and collaboratively with farmers – to ensure that we are
doing everything we can to prevent or reduce the risk of foodborne illness.
Safe and widely available produce is good for consumers, good for public
health, and good for growers. That’s why we’re all in this together.
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