FDA imposes tougher rules on imported foods

The US Food and Drug Administration is imposing new regulations on both US and foreign firms that manufacture, process, pack, or hold food and drinks for human or animal consumption in the United States.

The move comes in the wake of the attacks on the United States on 11 September 2001, which raised concerns that deliberate contamination of the food supply by pathogens or harmful chemicals could lead to widespread illness or death and economic loss.

The rules, mandated by the Bioterrorism Act of 2002, will also strengthen the FDA's oversight of imported foods and increase its ability to trace foods implicated in outbreaks of...