21 U.S.C. § 398 — Notices to States regarding imported food

The source credit identifies this section as part of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, originally enacted June 25, 1938 (ch. 675). The specific provision now codified at 21 U.S.C. § 398, however, was not part of the original 1938 statute; it was added as § 908 by Public Law 107-188, title III, § 310, on June 12, 2002. It was later renumbered as § 1008 by Public Law 111-31, division A, title I, § 101(b)(2), on June 22, 2009. The source credit thus documents two legislative actions: the 2002 addition and the 2009 renumbering, with no indication of substantive textual amendment beyond the renumbering itself. Public Law 107-188 is the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002. This act is generally understood to have been enacted in response to heightened concern, following the September 2001 terrorist attacks and subsequent anthrax incidents, about the vulnerability of the food supply and public health infrastructure to deliberate contamination or other emergencies. Title III of that act addressed food safety and security specifically, and provisions requiring notice to states about imported food threats are commonly associated with efforts to improve coordination between federal and state authorities in responding to contamination events. The record does not establish the specific legislative intent behind this particular notice provision beyond this general historical context, and no further detail should be inferred.