The mission of the Food and Drug Administration is to protect public health from the potential damage made by dangerous or low-quality food, drugs, and cosmetics. The federal agency installs criteria of quality and controls their adherence. Certification of the FDA spreads on food items produced in the US and imported from abroad. The agency controls the safety of human and veterinary drugs, especially over the counter medicine. Dietary supplements that are not drugs also undergo certification. The FDA also controls the quality of medical equipment that emits electromagnetic radiation. Cosmetic items are included in the list of consumers’ products that may undermine human health, for this reason, the FDA oversees the quality of cosmetics available on the US market.
Safety of drugs used by the society is the foremost concern of the FDA. Control over the quality of drugs is performed by the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. This branch of the FDA provides clinical testing of the medicine. All substances are tested in the laboratory and on animals after which some of them are tested on humans. During these tests, the frequency of side effects and general efficiency is determined.
As a governmental service, the FDA enforces a range of laws in health care dealing with products that are not determined as drugs. Here belong items of personal hygiene, cell phones, products for pets etc.. The FDA is financed from the taxpayers’ money and represents interests of the consumers. No drug companies can press or influence the decisions of the agency, otherwise, they are held responsible in court.