2007 was a busy year for FDA import alerts

The Food and Drug Administration blocked imports of 11 types of questionable foods and drugs in 2007, a significant increase from recent years.

Last year's 11 import alerts effectively ban the affected products from the USA until they're tested and proved safe. In the previous two years combined, the FDA added just six alerts that remain in effect, according to FDA data.

Eleven in one year makes for a "busy year," says Ted Poplawski, FDA import alert official.

About 270 FDA import alerts are in effect. Some are 30 years old.

On rare occasions, the agency adds an import alert and then lifts it shortly thereafter. Those aren't included in the FDA's data.

Three alerts added last year covered products from China: vegetable proteins such as wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate, some toothpaste and five types of farm-raised fish. A less-sweeping alert restricted imports of bottled water from three firms in Armenia after tests showed the presence of high levels of arsenic.

The 11 alerts came in a year marked by the largest pet-food recall — caused by contaminated Chinese ingredients — and multiple discoveries of potentially dangerous products for humans.

The FDA's actions may show it is responding to pressure to improve food safety, says Benjamin England, a former FDA attorney.

"They're starting to focus on imported products more, so they're finding more things," he says.

At least two import alerts in 2007 had substantial impact.

Demand for U.S. wheat gluten, a product used in many foods, including bread, has soared 30% since April when the FDA restricted imports of Chinese vegetable proteins, says Steve Pickman of MGP Ingredients, a domestic producer.

From September through November, inbound-U.S. shipments of Chinese wheat gluten fell to 2.4 million pounds vs. 14.7 million in the same period a year earlier, according to import data from Piers Global Intelligence Solutions.

Shipments of Chinese catfish during the same time dropped 68%, Piers data show. Chinese farm-raised catfish and four other kinds of fish were restricted in June after FDA tests found illegal chemicals.

The alert has led to shipping delays and more testing costs, raising wholesale prices for breaded shrimp by 5%, says Carlos Sanchez of Beaver Street Fisheries in Florida.

Foods not covered by alerts enter the USA with little FDA review. Companies can get off import alerts if they prove to the FDA that their products are consistently good.

No Chinese firms producing or exporting vegetable proteins, including wheat gluten, have done so. One Chinese seafood firm has.