It’s a small world. Every day, there’s a good chance that some of the food you’re eating came from another country. Fifteen percent of the food we eat, including nearly 50 percent of the fresh fruit and 20 percent of vegetables, is imported each year.

That’s why it’s so important that we do everything we can to help ensure that foods exported to the United States are safe for you and your family. To that end, two new rules that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposes focus on preventing food safety problems before they happen.

These rules would make importers more accountable for food safety, and would enhance our ability to monitor conditions and standards in foreign facilities that produce and process food.

While the FDA will continue to rely on inspections at U.S. ports of entry to keep contaminated foods from entering our country, under these proposed rules, we will significantly enhance our ability to identify issues before food gets to our shores.

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