21 U.S.C. § 2202 — National Agriculture and Food Defense

Page 1007 TITLE 21—FOOD AND DRUGS § 2202 § 2202. National Agriculture and Food Defense Strategy (a) Development and submission of strategy (1) In general Not later than 1 year after January 4, 2011, the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture, in coordina- tion with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall prepare and transmit to the relevant committees of Congress, and make publicly available on the Internet Web sites of the De- partment of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture, the National Agriculture and Food Defense Strategy. (2) Implementation plan The strategy shall include an implementa- tion plan for use by the Secretaries described under paragraph (1) in carrying out the strat- egy. (3) Research The strategy shall include a coordinated re- search agenda for use by the Secretaries de- scribed under paragraph (1) in conducting re- search to support the goals and activities de- scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b). (4) Revisions Not later than 4 years after the date on which the strategy is submitted to the rel- evant committees of Congress under para- graph (1), and not less frequently than every 4 years thereafter, the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agri- culture, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall revise and submit to the relevant committees of Congress the strat- egy. (5) Consistency with existing plans The strategy described in paragraph (1) shall be consistent with— (A) the National Incident Management System; (B) the National Response Framework; (C) the National Infrastructure Protection Plan; (D) the National Preparedness Goals; and (E) other relevant national strategies. (b) Components (1) In general The strategy shall include a description of the process to be used by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Home- land Security— (A) to achieve each goal described in para- graph (2); and (B) to evaluate the progress made by Fed- eral, State, local, and tribal governments to- wards the achievement of each goal de- scribed in paragraph (2). (2) Goals The strategy shall include a description of the process to be used by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Home- land Security to achieve the following goals: (A) Preparedness goal Enhance the preparedness of the agri- culture and food system by— (i) conducting vulnerability assessments of the agriculture and food system; (ii) mitigating vulnerabilities of the sys- tem; (iii) improving communication and training relating to the system; (iv) developing and conducting exercises to test decontamination and disposal plans; (v) developing modeling tools to improve event consequence assessment and deci- sion support; and (vi) preparing risk communication tools and enhancing public awareness through outreach. (B) Detection goal Improve agriculture and food system de- tection capabilities by— (i) identifying contamination in food products at the earliest possible time; and (ii) conducting surveillance to prevent the spread of diseases. (C) Emergency response goal Ensure an efficient response to agriculture and food emergencies by— (i) immediately investigating animal disease outbreaks and suspected food con- tamination; (ii) preventing additional human ill- nesses; (iii) organizing, training, and equipping animal, plant, and food emergency re- sponse teams of— (I) the Federal Government; and (II) State, local, and tribal govern- ments; (iv) designing, developing, and evalu- ating training and exercises carried out under agriculture and food defense plans; and (v) ensuring consistent and organized risk communication to the public by— (I) the Federal Government; (II) State, local, and tribal govern- ments; and (III) the private sector. (D) Recovery goal Secure agriculture and food production after an agriculture or food emergency by— (i) working with the private sector to de- velop business recovery plans to rapidly resume agriculture, food production, and international trade; (ii) conducting exercises of the plans de- scribed in subparagraph (C) with the goal of long-term recovery results; (iii) rapidly removing, and effectively disposing of— (I) contaminated agriculture and food products; and (II) infected plants and animals; and (iv) decontaminating and restoring areas affected by an agriculture or food emer- gency. Page 1008 TITLE 21—FOOD AND DRUGS § 2203 1 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘title).’’ 2 See References in Text note below. (3) Evaluation The Secretary, in coordination with the Sec- retary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall— (A) develop metrics to measure progress for the evaluation process described in para- graph (1)(B); and (B) report on the progress measured in sub- paragraph (A) as part of the National Agri- culture and Food Defense strategy described in subsection (a)(1). (c) Limited distribution In the interest of national security, the Sec- retary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, may deter- mine the manner and format in which the Na- tional Agriculture and Food Defense strategy established under this section is made publicly available on the Internet Web sites of the De- partment of Health and Human Services, the De- partment of Homeland Security, and the Depart- ment of Agriculture, as described in subsection (a)(1). (Pub. L. 111–353, title I, § 108, Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3910.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Secretary, referred to in subsec. (b)(3), probably means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. § 2203. Food and Agriculture Coordinating Coun- cils The Secretary of Homeland Security, in co- ordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agri- culture, shall within 180 days of January 4, 2011, and annually thereafter, submit to the relevant committees of Congress, and make publicly available on the Internet Web site of the Depart- ment of Homeland Security, a report on the ac- tivities of the Food and Agriculture Government Coordinating Council and the Food and Agri- culture Sector Coordinating Council, including the progress of such Councils on— (1) facilitating partnerships between public and private entities to help coordinate and en- hance the protection of the agriculture and food system of the United States; (2) providing for the regular and timely interchange of information between each council relating to the security of the agri- culture and food system (including intel- ligence information); (3) identifying best practices and methods for improving the coordination among Fed- eral, State, local, and private sector prepared- ness and response plans for agriculture and food defense; and (4) recommending methods by which to pro- tect the economy and the public health of the United States from the effects of— (A) animal or plant disease outbreaks; (B) food contamination; and (C) natural disasters affecting agriculture and food. (Pub. L. 111–353, title I, § 109, Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3912.) § 2204. Building domestic capacity (a) In general (1) Initial report The Secretary, in coordination with the Sec- retary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall, not later than 2 years after January 4, 2011, submit to Congress a comprehensive report that identifies pro- grams and practices that are intended to pro- mote the safety and supply chain security of food and to prevent outbreaks of foodborne ill- ness and other food-related hazards that can be addressed through preventive activities. Such report shall include a description of the following: (A) Analysis of the need for further regula- tions or guidance to industry. (B) Outreach to food industry sectors, in- cluding through the Food and Agriculture Coordinating Councils referred to in section 2203 of this title, to identify potential sources of emerging threats to the safety and security of the food supply and preven- tive strategies to address those threats. (C) Systems to ensure the prompt distribu- tion to the food industry of information and technical assistance concerning preventive strategies. (D) Communication systems to ensure that information about specific threats to the safety and security of the food supply are rapidly and effectively disseminated. (E) Surveillance systems and laboratory networks to rapidly detect and respond to foodborne illness outbreaks and other food- related hazards, including how such systems and networks are integrated. (F) Outreach, education, and training pro- vided to States and local governments to build State and local food safety and food defense capabilities, including progress im- plementing strategies developed under sec- tions 2202 and 2224 of this title. (G) The estimated resources needed to ef- fectively implement the programs and prac- tices identified in the report developed in this section over a 5-year period. (H) The impact of requirements under this Act (including amendments made by this Act) on certified organic farms and facilities (as defined in section 350d of this title.1 (I) Specific efforts taken pursuant to the agreements authorized under section 350j(c) of this title (as added by section 201),2 to- gether with, as necessary, a description of any additional authorities necessary to im- prove seafood safety. (2) Biennial reports On a biennial basis following the submission of the report under paragraph (1), the Sec- retary shall submit to Congress a report that— (A) reviews previous food safety programs and practices; (B) outlines the success of those programs and practices;