One of the basic purposes of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act is protection of the public from products that may be poisonous or deleterious, that are unclean or decomposed, or that have been exposed to insanitary conditions that may contaminate the product with filth or may render it injurious to health.
Sanitation provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act go further than to prohibit trade in products that are carriers of disease. This law also requires that foods be produced in sanitary facilities. It prohibits distribution of foods which contain repulsive or offensive matter (filth) as a result of insanitary storage conditions, regardless of whether the food in fact contains filth. Filth includes contaminants such as rat, mouse, and other animal hairs and excreta, whole insects, insect parts and excreta, parasitic worms, pollution from the excrement of humans and animals, as well as other extraneous materials which, because of their repulsiveness, would not knowingly be eaten or used. The presence of such filth renders foods adulterated, whether or not harm to health can be shown.
The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act thus requires that food be protected from contamination at all stages of production. Such protection includes extermination and exclusion of rodents and insects; inspection and sorting of raw materials to eliminate the insect-infested and decomposed portions; quick handling and proper storage to prevent decomposition and insect contamination; the use of clean equipment; control of possible sources of sewage pollution; and supervision of personnel who prepare foods to prevent contamination resulting from insanitary food handling practices.
Foods that are free from contamination prior to shipment sometimes become contaminated en route and as a consequence must be detained or seized. This emphasizes the importance of insisting on proper storage conditions in vessels, railroad cars, and other conveyances. While the shipper may be blameless, the law requires action against illegal merchandise no matter where it may have become illegal. All shippers should pack their products so as to protect them against spoilage or contamination en route, and should urge carriers to protect the merchandise by maintaining sanitary conditions and segregating food from other cargo which might contaminate it. For example, vessels transporting foods may also carry ore concentrates and poisonous insecticides. Improper cargo handling or disasters at sea have resulted in shipments becoming seriously contaminated, with detentions required.
Where import shipments become contaminated after Customs entry and landing (for example, in truck accidents, fires, barge sinkings, etc.), legal action is not taken under the import provisions of the law, but by seizure proceedings in a Federal district court, as with domestic interstate shipments (Sec. 304).
Fumigation of commodities already infested with insects will not result in a legal product since dead insects or evidence of past insect activity are objectionable. Fumigation may be employed where necessary, to prevent infestation, but care is required to prevent buildup of nonpermitted chemical residues from fumigation.
Source: Excerpted from Requirements of Laws and Regulations Enforced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (1997).