The U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act: Implications in Transnational Governance of Food Safety, Food System Sustainability, and the Tension with Free Trade

25 Pages Posted: 1 Oct 2015

See all articles by Neal D. Fortin

Neal D. Fortin

Institute for Food Laws & Regulations, Michigan State University

Date Written: Spring 2015

Abstract

Our national food systems are global and interconnected. This has made domestic regulation less effective. Mutual recognition and cooperation among national regulatory systems is necessary to increase both efficiency and effectiveness. The US Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) provides the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for the first time, a legal framework in which the agency could weave itself into a transnational regulatory system through mutual recognition and cooperation. This authority raises potential World Trade Organization concerns, but if properly implemented, such an interconnected international system would magnify the benefits of each nation’s vigilance without offending any trade agreements.

Keywords: Food and Drug Administration, food governance, FDA, food law, food safety, Food Safety Modernization Act, food trade, free trade, FSMA, global food law, HACCP, HARPC, imported food, international food law, SPS, TBT, WTO

Suggested Citation

Fortin, Neal D., The U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act: Implications in Transnational Governance of Food Safety, Food System Sustainability, and the Tension with Free Trade (Spring 2015). Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum, Vol. 25, 2015, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2667119

Neal D. Fortin (Contact Author)

Institute for Food Laws & Regulations, Michigan State University ( email )

College of Agriculture and Natural Resourses
Anthony Hall, Room 3383
East Lansing, MI 48824
United States
(517) 355-8295 (Phone)
517) 432-1492 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.iflr.msu.edu

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