(FDA: Washington) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) unveiled a new strategy to meet the challenges posed by rapidly rising imports of FDA-regulated products and a complex global supply chain in a report called the “Pathway to Global Product Safety and Quality.”

“Global production of FDA-regulated goods has exploded over the past 10 years,” says Commissioner of Food and Drugs, Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg. “In addition to an increase in imported finished products, manufacturers increasingly use imported materials and ingredients in their U.S. production facilities, making the distinction between domestic and imported products obsolete. There has been a perfect storm—more products, more manufacturers, more countries, and more access. A dramatic change in strategy must be implemented.”

The FDA report calls for the agency to transform the way it conducts business and to act globally to promote and protect the health of U.S. consumers.

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