FDA Consumer Health Information - High-Tech Devices Help Ensure Product Safety

SILVER SPRING, Md., Oct. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Federal regulators are testing new technologies to screen food and medical products for harmful substances in an effort to improve safety and cut inspection time from days or weeks to minutes.

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The Food and Drug Administration says portable rapid spectroscopic technologies—which analyze the dispersion of an object's light to determine the object's chemical or molecular composition—may hold the key to a new era of product-safety screening. These portable devices could significantly cut risks from contamination or counterfeiting of medicines, dietary supplements, cosmetics, and perhaps even foods, FDA experts say. (includes photo slideshow)

Learn more about the new tools FDA is using to help ensure product safety at http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm274100.htm

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SOURCE U.S. Food and Drug Administration