As part of its pursuit of an international operating model to ensure food safety, the Food and Drug Administration now offers publications in five foreign languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, Portuguese and Spanish.
The agency’s Office of International Programs began offering the foreign language versions in early April, according to an agency news release. The intent is to enable the FDA’s foreign counterparts and industry to better understand the agency’s laws and practices.
Among the translated publications is the FDA’s produce guidance document, “Guide to minimize microbial food safety hazards for fresh fruits and vegetables.” It and other documents are available in the foreign language versions on a special page on the agency’s website: www.FDA.gov/translations.
Other translated documents include field inspection and investigation manuals. There is also a central database that can be sorted by product type or language. Additional documents and publications are planned to be added as they are translated.
The documents do carry a disclaimer: “While the agency has attempted to obtain translation that are as faithful as possible to the English version, we recognize that the translated versions may not be as precise, clear, or complete as the English version. The official version of these documents is the English version.”
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