Final answer:
The purpose of the FDA is to regulate food and drug products that are sold in the United States, ensuring their safety, efficacy, and proper labeling. They oversee various consumer products, and play a key role in the advancement of public health and innovations in medicine and food safety.
Step-by-step explanation:
The purpose of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is to regulate and ensure the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation's food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation. The answer to the student's question is option c. Regulate food and drug products that are sold in the United States. The FDA is tasked with protecting the public health by:
- Ensuring that foods are safe, wholesome, sanitary, and properly labeled.
- Guaranteeing human and veterinary drugs, and vaccines and other biological products and medical devices intended for human use are safe and effective.
- Protecting the public from electronic product radiation.
- Assuring cosmetics and dietary supplements are safe and properly labeled.
- Regulating tobacco products.
The FDA also plays a significant role in the public health ecosystem by speeding up innovations to make medicines more effective and more affordable, and by providing the public with the accurate, science-based information necessary to use medicines and foods to maintain and improve their health. Furthermore, FDA-regulated products account for about a quarter of every dollar spent by American consumers each year.