page_title: Food and Drug Administration
section_title: Regional facilities
hierarchical_section_title: Food and Drug Administration / Location / Regional facilities
caption_attribution_description: Aerial view of the Jefferson Laboratories of the FDA campus. The campus houses all NCTR operations, as well as the Arkansas Regional Laboratories (ARL), an FDA Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) Southwest Region laboratory. The National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR) is FDA's internationally recognized research center. The unique scientific research expertise of NCTR is critical in supporting FDA product centers and their regulatory science roles. For more about NCTR, read the Consumer Update at www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm267496.htm
context_page_description: The Food and Drug Administration is a federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food safety, tobacco products, dietary supplements, prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs, vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, blood transfusions, medical devices, electromagnetic radiation emitting devices, cosmetics, animal foods & feed and veterinary products.
  The FDA was empowered by the United States Congress to enforce the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which serves as the primary focus for the Agency; the FDA also enforces other laws, notably Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act and associated regulations, many of which are not directly related to food or drugs. These include regulating lasers, cellular phones, condoms and control of disease on products ranging from certain household pets to sperm donation for assisted reproduction.
  The FDA is led by the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.
context_section_description: While most of the Centers are located in the Montgomery and Prince George's Counties in the Washington, D.C. area as part of the Headquarters divisions, two offices – the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) and the Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI) – are primarily field offices with a workforce spread across the country. There also a number of field locations across the United States in addition to international locations in China, India, Europe, Middle East, and Latin America. 
  White Oak Campus is known as the “Federal Research Center” of the FDA. In total, the campus is 710 acres and separated by eight stream courses. This campus houses the Office of the Commissioner (OC), the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA),  the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) and offices for the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM). 
  The Office of Regulatory Affairs is considered the "eyes and ears" of the agency, conducting the vast majority of the FDA's work in the field. Consumer Safety Officers, more commonly called Investigators, are the individuals who inspect production and warehousing facilities, investigate complaints, illnesses, or outbreaks, and review documentation in the case of medical devices, drugs, biological products, and other items where it may be difficult to conduct a physical examination or take a physical sample of the product.
  The Office of Regulatory Affairs is divided into five regions, which are further divided into 20 districts. Districts are based roughly on the geographic divisions of the federal court system. Each district comprises a main district office and a number of Resident Posts, which are FDA remote offices that serve a particular geographic area. ORA also includes the Agency's network of regulatory laboratories, which analyze any physical samples taken.  Though samples are usually food-related, some laboratories are equipped to analyze drugs, cosmetics, and radiation-emitting devices.
  The Office of Criminal Investigations was established in 1991 to investigate criminal cases. Unlike ORA Investigators, OCI Special Agents are armed, and don't focus on technical aspects of the regulated industries. OCI agents pursue and develop cases where individuals and companies have committed criminal actions, such as fraudulent claims, or knowingly and willfully shipping known adulterated goods in interstate commerce. In many cases, OCI pursues cases involving Title 18 violations (e.g., conspiracy, false statements, wire fraud, mail fraud), in addition to prohibited acts as defined in Chapter III of the FD&C Act. OCI Special Agents often come from other criminal investigations backgrounds, and work closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Assistant Attorney General, and even Interpol. OCI receives cases from a variety of sources—including ORA, local agencies, and the FBI—and works with ORA Investigators to help develop the technical and science-based aspects of a case.  OCI is a smaller branch, comprising about 200 agents nationwide.
  The FDA frequently works with other federal agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, Drug Enforcement Administration, Customs and Border Protection, and Consumer Product Safety Commission. Often local and state government agencies also work with the FDA to provide regulatory inspections and enforcement action.
caption: The Arkansas Laboratory in Jefferson, Arkansas is the headquarters of the National Center for Toxicological Research
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