The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced that the two organizations will now share data through a Memorandum of Understanding.
The Memorandum of Understanding will share information from the agencies' databases on pesticides and toxic substances. Sharing such information will allow the agencies to improve their assessments of how these substances impact the environment and make the best decisions for the public's safety.
The roles of the EPA and FDA are complementary, as they both have the authority to regulate substances that are involved in drugs, cosmetics and food. The FDA focuses on preserving public health through safe substances by enforcing public health laws. The EPA focuses on controlling the pesticides and toxic substances programs through the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act; the Toxic Substance Control Act; and the Food, Drug &Cosmetic Act.
At times there may be a need for both agencies to regulate a specific substance. An example would be an antimicrobial food wash company. The company must show the FDA that its products are safe for human consumption and prove to the EPA that the products will not harm the environment.
The shared data will be the most up-to-date information that is available to the agencies.
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