FDA Launches Food Safety Equivalence Webpage

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published a webpage that provides information on the food safety equivalence process.

Equivalence is the determination of whether a foreign regulatory counterpart’s food safety controls achieve at least the same level of public health protection as measures required by U.S. law. This does not mean that a foreign regulatory authority is not required to develop and implement the same exact procedures and food safety controls that FDA requires, rather, it means that a foreign authority must objectively demonstrate how its food safety controls, though different, meet at least the same level of public health protection achieved by U.S. measures.

The new webpage explains how equivalence is determined, the current equivalence determinations, and how regulatory authorities can submit a formal request for equivalence for FDA-regulated food products.