FDA is requesting a total budget of $5.1 billion for fiscal 2017, beginning Oct. 1—an 8 percent increase over the fiscal 2016 budget. The overall request includes a net increase of $14.6 million in budget authority and $268.7 million in user fees for initiatives tied to several key areas, including the implementation of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FMSA).

“The FDA continues to work to obtain the most public health value for the federal dollar as we address expanded regulatory responsibilities and scientific challenges,” says Stephen Ostroff, FDA acting commissioner. “The agency remains fully committed to meeting the needs and high expectations of the American people regarding the products we regulate.”

FDA has finalized major rules that implement the core of FSMA, the most sweeping overhaul of the country’s food safety system since the first federal food safety law was passed in 1906. FDA says the fiscal 2017 budget builds on this work by supporting federal and state efforts to establish enforceable safety standards for produce farms. Funding also will enable the FDA to continue progress to hold importers accountable for verifying that imported food meets US safety standards, as well as conduct food safety audits of foreign food facilities.