Earlier this month, The Washington Post reported that Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced that he was reallocating three dozen employees to international mail facilities (IMF), as well as the FDA’s cybercrime and forensic chemistry units, to focus on suspicious shipments that may contain illegal food and medical products. Commissioner Gottlieb indicated that the deployment will be funded through existing FDA resources, but he did not indicate how the deployment will affect the processing of imports at express consignment carrier facilities or other ports of entry.

The initiative is the first major announcement by the new FDA Commissioner on FDA import enforcement. It shows that Commissioner Gottlieb is aware of the sharp and continuing increase in the volume of imports that the FDA oversees, but it also demonstrates the trade-offs and challenges that the FDA faces in dealing with this volume.