The access database contains labeling and catalogue information of approximately 3,000 dietary supplement products sold in the United States. The database includes information such as the product's name, the name and address of the manufacturer or distributor, the product's ingredients, and claims about the product. Claims may be about the health benefits or nutrient content of the product or may be nutritional support statements. Thus, the database provides information on the range of products available for sale in the United States, where these products are sold, what they contain, and what claims are being made about these products.

RTI, under contract with FDA, constructed this database on cosmetic ingredients that could potentially be derived from animals. These ingredients are of interest because of the potential for transmission of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or other Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs).

A survey conducted by Research Triangle Institute (RTI) under contract with FDA. The access database contains 593 records of private laboratories that test food. It includes the variables needed to support the kinds of analyses FDA expects to undertake-such as location and contact information, economic variables, test capabilities, and Quality Assurance Programs. The FTLD allows users to sort laboratories by location such as state or country, query laboratories owned by one parent company, sort laboratories by capabilities, and sort laboratories that use quality assurance guidelines such as International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards, and determine laboratories associated with a certain geographic area or FDA district.

FDA is authorized to detain certain products offered for entry into the United States if they are in violation of FDA laws and regulations. The Import Refusal Report (IRR) is updated monthly and records the product, its supplier and country of origin, and the reason(s) the product was refused entry.

These databases were created by Audits International, an independent food research organization, with support from the US Food and Drug Administration.