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The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)
What does it mean for you?
You can work with any number of consultants and firms to figure out if you are ready for the FSMA but how many of them were the lead of the writing of the FSVP Final rule, the development of the VQIP, oversaw the agency plan to implement the programs and was the advisor to the other FSMA provisions?
On January 4, 2011 the most sweeping reform of U.S. food safety laws in more than 70 years was signed into law by then President Obama. The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) aims to ensure the U.S. food supply is safe by shifting the focus from responding to contamination to preventing it.
Congress established specific implementation dates in the legislation and the FDA has spent significant resources to be ready for those dates. During my tenure at the agency I served as the as the champion overseeing implementation of the Imports Implementation Workgroup, the group responsible for standing up 5 import related programs.
These sweeping reforms call on industry to play an active role in the compliance of the products they grow, manufacture, pack, hold and import. With FSMA the industry is shifting to a proactive culture that focuses on preventing contamination events, rather than reacting after the fact. Will your facility be in compliance? Will your products meet the requirements? Do you have all of the resources in place to comply?