WASHINGTON—The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) opened the Import Safety Commercial Targeting and Analysis Center (CTAC), devoted to ensuring the safety of foods imported to the United States. The center is operating under the direction of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and was created on the recommendation of President Obama’s Food Safety Working Group that is charged with advising the president on how to upgrade the U.S. food-safety system for the 21st century.
Located in Washington, D.C., CTAC is one of CBP’s six commercial targeting centers in the United States. It specifically will target shipments of imported cargo, including food, for possible safety violations. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and other partnering government agencies, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, will provide on-site expertise at the center.
“The expertise FSIS, FDA, and our other partners bring to the table is invaluable to ensuring that America’s imported food supply is safe,” said CBP Acting Commissioner Jayson P. Ahern. “We look forward to continued cooperation with the Food Safety Working Group and its future recommendations.”
As part of its collaboration with CBP, FSIS will extend its enforcement efforts to target ineligible imports investigate suspicious shipments based on manifest information filed prior to the arrival of goods at U.S. ports.
