 
 WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/SPS/N/USA/704/Add.1 
14 June 2004 
 
 (04-2557) 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
NOTIFICATION  
 
Addendum 
 
 
 The following communication, received on 8 June 2004, is being circulated at the request of the Delegation of the United States. 
 
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 Administrative Detention of Food for Human or Animal Consumption Under the Public Health 
Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 
 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) publishe d a final rule, "Administrative Detention of 
Food for Human or Animal Consumption Under th e Public Health Security and Bioterrorism 
Preparedness and Respons e Act of 2002" in the Federal Register .  This final rule provides procedures 
for the detention of an article of food, if an officer or qualified em ployee of FDA has credible evidence 
or information indicating that such article presents a threat of serious adverse health consequences or 
death to humans or animals.  This  final rule implements section 303 of the Public Health Security and 
Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002, which authorizes the use of administrative 
detentions and requires regulations establishing procedures for institu ting on an expedited basis certain 
enforcement actions against perishab le foods subject to a detention or der.  Administrative detention is 
one of several tools that will enable FDA to ac t quickly in responding to a threatened or actual 
bioterrorist attack on the U.S. food supply by givi ng FDA the authority to detain food that presents a 
threat of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals.  Such food may be 
detained for up to thirty days to enable FDA to institute a judicial seizure action or injunction 
proceeding.  FDA notified the proposed rule to  the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary 
Measures on 13 May 2003.  The administrative detenti on authority in section 303 of the Bioterrorism 
Act took effect immediately upon enactment of  the Act. The procedures FDA will follow for 
administratively detaining food that is specified in the final rule take effect 6 July 2004. 
 
Complete text of the Final Rule contained in th e Federal Register (FR), 69 FR 31660-31705 (available 
in English) can be found on the Internet at:  http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/04-
12366.pdf .  For further information contact:  Ms. Kelli A. Giannattasio, Center for Food Safety and 
Applied Nutrition (HFS-4), Food and Drug Administra tion, 5100 Paint Branch Pkwy., College Park, 
MD 20740, Tel. 301-436-1432. 
 Further information can be found on the FDA web site at 
http://www.fda.gov/oc/bioterrorism/bioact.html  
 
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