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The Food and Drug Administration's six Centers are involved in the oversight and regulation of more than 1 trillion dollars' worth of products annually. That amount accounts for 22 cents of every dollar spent each year by American consumers.
Oversees the safety and effectiveness of medical drugs and monitors the accuracy of labels and label-related advertising.
Upcoming: developing new and improved methods to provide accurate and timely information to patients and health care providers to ensure the safe and effective use of drugs.
Oversees the safety and security of most of the food (including dietary supplements) consumed in America as well as cosmetics, whether they are domestically produced or imported. The center emphasizes the importance of preventing foodborne illness through education, surveillance, and analysis, and mandates uniform food labels to help consumers prepare healthy diets and avoid hazards such as allergens.
Upcoming: addressing obesity, and developing forensic microbiology.
Oversees the safety and effectiveness of biological products, including vaccines, blood and blood components, human tissues, certain medical devices, and novel products such as cell and gene therapies.
Upcoming: new vaccines, testing methods using DNA, and “cell transplants,” such as treatments that use stem cells.
Ensures that animal feed is safe and that animal drugs do not leave hazardous residues in human foods such as milk, meat, and eggs. Approves safe and effective products for animals. The center works to prevent the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)--also called mad cow disease--through animal feed.
Upcoming: assuring safety of food from animal clones and their offspring and providing incentives to develop new animal drugs to treat minor diseases and species.
Assures the safety and effectiveness of medical devices, from tongue depressors and thermometers to kidney dialysis machines and heart pacemakers. Also monitors X-ray machines and other devices that emit radiation such as microwave ovens.
Upcoming: devices that include therapeutic coatings, and devices derived from nanotechnology.
Conducts scientific research to anticipate the needs of science and the public--such as understanding what causes drug toxicity, what are the best ways to check human exposure, susceptibility, and risk.
Upcoming: new molecular, chemical, and mathematical tools to understand human genes and how they work in illness and with medical treatments.