Dear Colleague:
I am very pleased to share with you the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition's (CFSAN's) Affirmative Agenda for International Activities for 2000-2002. This Agenda was developed in response to extensive stakeholder interest in this increasingly important area.
In the International Affirmative Agenda you will find broad priorities in each of the five major categories of CFSAN's international activities: (1) Regulatory (Enforcement, Monitoring, Inspection); (2) Harmonization; (3) Development, Maintenance, and Dissemination of CFSAN's Science Base; (4) Equivalence Evaluations, Food Safety Needs Assessments, and Food Safety Technical Cooperation and Assistance; and (5) Trade-Related Activities. The Center will use the framework of the Affirmative Agenda and the broad priorities identified under each of these categories to develop focussed, specific international programs and activities in each of the next three years.
CFSAN intends to continue to exercise scientific and regulatory leadership in the new international environment in order to protect the health of American consumers and to promote the safety and quality of foods and cosmetics moving in international commerce.
We look forward to working with you to help implement CFSAN's International Affirmative Agenda.
| Sincerely yours,
Joseph A. Levitt |
Affirmative Agenda for International Activities