Title 21, Food and DrugsRelease 119-102

§2101 Findings

Title 21 › CHAPTER 26 — FOOD SAFETY › § 2101

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

Congress says keeping the U.S. food supply safe and trusted is critical for health, consumer confidence, and the food economy. Illnesses and deaths in people and pets from contaminated food have hurt public trust and caused big losses for makers who were not responsible. Protecting food is harder because of new germs and hard-to-detect contaminants, more food imports, and too few inspection resources. The Economic Research Service says food imports rose from $45,600,000,000 in 2003 to $64,000,000,000 in 2007. Imported food is 13 percent of the average American diet, including 31 percent of fruits, juices, and nuts, 9.5 percent of red meat, and 78.6 percent of fish and shellfish. The number of full-time equivalent FDA inspectors fell from 2003 to 2007.

Full Legal Text

Title 21, §2101

Food and Drugs, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Congress finds that—

(1)the safety and integrity of the United States food supply are vital to public health, to public confidence in the food supply, and to the success of the food sector of the Nation’s economy;

(2)illnesses and deaths of individuals and companion animals caused by contaminated food—

(A)have contributed to a loss of public confidence in food safety; and

(B)have caused significant economic losses to manufacturers and producers not responsible for contaminated food items;

(3)the task of preserving the safety of the food supply of the United States faces tremendous pressures with regard to—

(A)emerging pathogens and other contaminants and the ability to detect all forms of contamination;

(B)an increasing volume of imported food from a wide variety of countries; and

(C)a shortage of adequate resources for monitoring and inspection;

(4)according to the Economic Research Service of the Department of Agriculture, the United States is increasing the amount of food that it imports such that—

(A)from 2003 to 2007, the value of food imports has increased from $45,600,000,000 to $64,000,000,000; and

(B)imported food accounts for 13 percent of the average American diet including 31 percent of fruits, juices, and nuts, 9.5 percent of red meat, and 78.6 percent of fish and shellfish; and

(5)the number of full-time equivalent Food and Drug Administration employees conducting inspections has decreased from 2003 to 2007.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

21 U.S.C. § 2101

Title 21, Food and Drugs

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102