FDA reorganizes food additive functions

The new office will have four organizational units, one of which is the Division of Food Contact Substance Notification Review, which will streamline the food-packaging notification process. FDA received an additional $10 million in the FY 2001 budget to improve the review process and boost staffing levels. The highly regarded FDA staffers who work on food contact issues will remain in place and are expected to be even more effective. “We believe that increased operational efficiency within OFAS—whether for food-additive petitions, for notifications of Food Contact Substances, for GRAS notifications, or for biotechnology consultations—clearly it is in the best interests, not only of FDA and the food industry, but of consumers as well,” said Dr. Rhona Applebaum, executive vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs for NFPA.