Advisory Committees

Charter of the Food Advisory Committee

November 18, 2009

Authority

The Food Advisory Committee was established under 15 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.; 21 U.S.C. 321, 341, 342, 343, 343-1, 344, 345, 346, 348, 349, 350, 350a, 351, 352, 353(f), 355, 360b, 360c-j, 371, 375, 376, 378, 379e, 381, 393, 394, 881(b); 42 U.S.C. 217a, 241, 242, 242a, 262, 264; 21 CFR Part 14, 330.10(a); the Committee is governed by the provisions of Public Law 92-463, as amended (5 U.S.C. App. 2), the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which sets forth standards for the formation and use of advisory committees.

Objectives and Scope of Activities

The Food Advisory Committee advises the Commissioner or designee in discharging responsibilities as they relate to issues of food safety and cosmetics for which the Food and Drug Administration has regulatory responsibility.

Description of Duties

The Committee provides advice on emerging food safety, nutrition and other food- or cosmetic-related health issues that FDA considers of primary importance for its food and cosmetics programs. The Committee may be charged with reviewing and evaluating available data and making recommendations on matters such as those relating to: (1) broad scientific and technical food- or cosmetic-related issues; (2) the safety of food ingredients and new foods; (3) labeling of foods and cosmetics; (4) nutrient needs and nutritional adequacy; and (5) safe exposure limits for food contaminants. The Committee may also be asked to provide advice and make recommendations on ways of communicating to the public the potential risks associated with these issues and on approaches that might be considered for addressing the issues.

Agency or Official to Whom the Committee Reports

The Committee provides advice to the Commissioner of Foods and Drugs.

Support

Management and support services shall be provided by the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration.

Estimated Annual Operating Costs and Staff Years

The estimated annual cost for operating the Committee, including compensation and travel expenses for members, but excluding staff support, is $125,947. The estimated person-years of staff support are .9, at an estimated annual cost of $238,940.

Designated Federal Officer

FDA will select a fulltime or permanent part-time Federal employee to serve as the Designated Federal Officer (DFO) to attend each Committee meeting and ensure that all procedures are within applicable statutory, regulatory, and HHS General Administration Manual directives. The DFO will approve all meeting agendas, call all of the Committee and subcommittee meetings, adjourn any meeting when the DFO determines adjournment to be in the public interest and chair meetings when directed to do so by the official to whom the Committee reports. The DFO shall be present at all meetings of the full committee and subcommittees.

Estimated Number and Frequency of Meetings

Meetings shall be held approximately twice a year. Meetings shall be open to the public except as determined otherwise by the Commissioner or designee in accordance with the Government in the Sunshine Act [5 U.S.C. 552b(c)] and the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Notice of all meetings shall be given to the public. A report will be prepared which will contain, as a minimum, a list of members and their business addresses, the Committee’s function, the dates and places of meetings, and a summary of the Committee’s activities and recommendations made during the fiscal year. A copy of this report will be provided to the Department Committee Management Officer.

Duration

Continuing

Termination

Unless renewed by appropriate action prior to its expiration, the Food Advisory Committee will terminate two years from the date the charter is filed.

Membership and Designation

The Committee shall consist of a core of 17 members including the Chair. Members and the Chair are selected by the Commissioner or designee from among authorities knowledgeable in the fields of physical sciences, biological and life sciences, food science, risk assessment, nutrition, food technology, molecular biology, epidemiology and other relevant scientific and technical disciplines. Members will be invited to serve for overlapping terms of up to four years. The core of voting members may include two technically qualified members, selected by the Commissioner or designee, who are identified with consumer interests and are recommended by either a consortium of consumer-oriented organizations or other interested persons. In addition to the voting members, the Committee may include two non-voting members who are identified with industry interests.

The Commissioner or designee shall have the authority to select members of other scientific and technical FDA advisory committees (normally not to exceed 10 members) to serve temporarily as voting members and to designate experts to serve temporarily as voting members when: (1) expertise is required that is not available among current voting standing members of the Committee (when additional voting members are added to the Committee to provide needed expertise, a quorum will be based on the combined total of regular and added members), or (2) to comprise a quorum when, because of unforeseen circumstances, a quorum is or will be lacking.

Members shall be invited to serve for overlapping four-year terms. Terms of more than two years are contingent upon the renewal of the Committee by appropriate action prior to its expiration.

Subcommittees

Temporary subcommittees consisting of two or more Committee members may be established by the Commissioner or designee as needed to address specific issues within their respective areas of expertise.

Subcommittees make preliminary recommendations regarding specific issues for subsequent action by the full Committee. The Department Committee Management Officer shall be notified upon establishment of each subcommittee, and shall be provided information on its name, membership, function, and estimated frequency of meetings.

Recordkeeping

The records of the Committee, established subcommittees, or other subgroups of the Committee, shall be handled in accordance with General Records Schedule 26, Item 2 or other approved agency records disposition schedule. The records shall be available for public inspection and copying, subject to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.

Filing Date