The FDA regulates and supervises the quality of the United States food, pharmaceutical and other related products. Over the years the FDA has grown and assumed more responsibilities to meet the evolving food and drug safety needs of our nation. These responsibilities include the regulation, safety and supervision of foods, dietary supplements and drugs, along with vaccines, blood products, biological products and medical devices. Other responsibilities include regulation of cosmetics, veterinary products and radiation-emitting devices.
History
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the oldest United States federal government consumer protection agency and falls under the umbrella of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. In June 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt signed into law the Pure Food and Drug Act (PFDA). This law prohibited interstate commerce in contaminated and mis-branded food and drugs and was meant to protect consumers. In 1927, the PFDA became the FDA.
Public Health Service
Public Health Service is a branch of the FDA responsible for sanitation regulations regarding interstate travel and control of disease on a wide range of products, from pet turtles to semen donations.
Foods
The safety and accurate labeling of foods (except for meat products and poultry) and bottled water fall under the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), a branch of the FDA. The FDA also regulates products with small amounts of meat products. Meat products such as those from cattle and chickens fall under the regulations of the United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection.
Dietary Supplements
Dietary supplements do not undergo FDA safety and efficacy testing or approval. According to USPharmacist.com, manufacturers of dietary supplement products are responsible for ensuring that their supplements are safe before they are marketed. The FDA must show that a supplement is unsafe before it can restrict the product's use or have it taken off the market.
Drugs and Cosmetics
The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research is a branch of the FDA responsible for approving drug labeling and enforcing manufacturing standards for new drugs, generic drugs and over-the-counter drugs.
Cosmetics safety and labeling falls under the jurisdiction of CSFAN, the FDA branch that also regulates food and bottled water. The agency requires that cosmetics not thoroughly tested under FDA safety rules must bear a warning indicating that fact.
Biological Products
Biological products such as vaccines, blood and blood products, along with gene therapy and cell-tissue-based products, are regulated by the Center for Biological Evaluation and Research, another branch of the FDA. The center is responsible for regulating the nation's blood supply, licensing the product and manufacturing establishments, and developing standards and testing methods.
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