Many questions directed at outgoing Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg during a Senate budget hearing on Thursday concerned funding for the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and details of the law’s rules. The agency’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2016 asks for a total of $1.5 billion for food safety and nutrition,…
Budget Subcommittee Zeroes in on FDA’s Request for More FSMA Funding
The increased funding the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has requested for implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in fiscal year 2016 was one of the key topics of discussion Wednesday during a House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee hearing. 
Savings From a Single Food Safety Agency Appeal to Some House Republicans
Some House Republicans appear to be considering proposals for a single food safety agency. In January, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced bills to establish such an agency independent of any federal department. In his budget proposal for fiscal year 2016, President Obama proposed the consolidation of the Agriculture Department’s…
FDA’s Taylor: Proposed 2016 Funding Critical for FSMA Implementation
This year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was allocated an additional $27.5 million for food safety activities, and, under the president’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2016, the agency would get another $109.5 million. In a Tuesday FDA blog post, Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine Michael Taylor explained why the increase…
Obama’s 2016 Budget: $1.6 Billion for Food Safety, Single Food-Safety Agency
President Obama’s $3.99-trillion budget proposal for fiscal year 2016, released Monday, would allot $1.6 billion to food-safety work. With all of the major Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) rules set to be finalized by the end of FY 2016, a lot of the focus is on Food and Drug Administration’s requests. 
Overall, the agency…