Background to the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act In the summer of 2012, more than half a billion eggs were recalled in the United States. These salmonella-contaminated eggs were responsible for the illness of over 1,000 people across the country (Jalonick, 2010). This epidemic served as a “wake-up call” for the need to empower the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to implement stricter regulations on the food and pharmaceutical industries. Due to the epidemic and the need for stricter regulations, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) (S. 510 and H.R. 2751) was proposed and signed into law by President Obama on January 4, 2011. The Food Safety Modernization Act commits to ensuring that the U.S. food supply is safe by redirecting federal regulators' efforts from responding to contamination to preventing it. There are four main elements of the law. The first element involves new FDA controls on imported foods and six hundred inspections of foreign facilities (Levitt, 2011). It is proposed to double the number of inspections each year for five years. Under the Food Safety Modernization Act, new tariffs will be imposed on food companies. Food companies will need to have export certificates. Other taxes will be associated with food imports (Levitt, 2011). However, the new law will allow a fast track of imports for those companies that undergo more intensive inspections and participate in the Qualified Importer Program. Overall, the law will give the FDA greater enforcement powers (Levitt, 2011). The power will come in the form of increased inspections of both domestic and foreign facilities and mandatory recalls if the FDA suspects a food, drug or beverage may be contaminated. Finally, with the new law,... half the paper... more than half a billion nationwide. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/21/egg-recall-expands-to-mor_n_690019.html(7)Layton, L. (2010, December 19). The food safety measure passes the Senate by surprise on Sunday. Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/19/AR2010121904032.html(8)Layton, L. (2009, July 31). The House approves the food safety law; the law would expand the FDA's power. Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/30/AR2009073003271.html?hpid=topnews(9)Levitt, J. (2011, March 21). FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. . Retrieved from http://www.sfa.org/public_documents/Food_Safety_Presentation.pdf(10)Shiner, M. (2010, December 12). Senate approves food safety measure. Political. Retrieved from http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1210/46598.html