FDA opens Mexico City office

MEXICO CITY The Food and Drug Administration has expanded its presence outside the United States with the opening of a new office in Mexico City, the agency announced Tuesday.

The office is part of an effort that began late last year to bolster the agency’s monitoring of drug and food safety by opening regional offices abroad, staffed with FDA experts who inspect products before they’re exported to the United States. It is the 10th such office opened in the last 13 months and the third in Latin America, after the offices in Santiago, Chile, and San Jose, Costa Rica.

“The opening of this office represents an important step as we redesign our product safety strategy,” FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg said. “We, like our partners in the Mexican government, realize that prevention is the key. For example, more than a third of the fresh fruits and vegetables we eat come from Mexico, as do a large amount of our medical devices.”

The staff of the office will work with counterparts in the Mexican government to harmonize regulations and guidance standards and share information on the U.S. and Mexican regulatory systems.