Until the new law, FDA inspectors could inspect food imports at the border and work voluntarily with foreign governments and food companies to bring their standards up to US levels. Now, the agency will also be able to require importers to verify that their foreign suppliers are living up to those standards. "FDA for the first time will have real authority over imported food," says Bill Hubbard, a former FDA associate commissioner.
Sara Miller Llana/The Christian Science Monitor/File