Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION

The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services that is mandated to protect the American public in terms of health measures and activities (1 . This agency performs actions that determine the safety , as well as efficacy of a wide range of items , including drugs and other biological items (2 . In addition , the FDA also monitors the country 's supply of food cosmetics and tobacco production

The history of the FDA dates back to 1848 when Lewis Caleb Beck of

the United States Patent Office initiated analytical examination of agricultural produce for the Department of Agriculture . This first regulatory function was conferred to this office in 1906 , when the Pure Food and Drugs Act was promulgated . Its function has then continued on through the decades and in 1930 , the name FDA was then coined to provide an identity to this agency

The FDA is currently the governing agency that screens drugs that are being marketed around the United States . To date , there are currently 11 ,000 drugs that are available to the public , ranging from the simple toothpaste to the highly regulated drugs . The FDA is organized into 7 centers , each regulating a specific category , such as biological products , medical devices , drugs , food , tobacco , veterinary medicines and toxic reagents (3 . The FDA is primarily responsible for approving new drugs that would be released to the market (4 . In addition , the FDA is also mandated to ensure that...