The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released their 2013 report on high risk areas of oversight. Food safety was one of those areas. We reported on this over the weekend, along with Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro’s response to the government. But the document itself is worth examining more closely. The GAO states that federal oversight of food … Read more
The FDA announced on Friday that they are delaying the close of the comment period on two food safety rules that are part of the Food Safety Modernization Act. Those rules are already more than a year overdue. The two rules are “Current Good Manufacturing Practice and Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human … Read more
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released one of the rules under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) yesterday, giving public health officials the authority to detain contaminated and adulterated food. Before this rule, government officials could only hold a food when it had “credible evidence” that it presented a health risk to humans or … Read more
Tennessee will be the site for one of five national Integrated Food Safety Centers of Excellence. The creation of these, which will identify best practices in foodborne disease surveillance and serve as public health resources, was mandated by tthe Food Safety Modernization Act. The other sites are Minnesota, Oregon, Colorado and Florida. Funded by a $200,000 … Read more
The FDA has released a fact sheet on the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) proposed rule for preventive controls for human food. The public can now comment on this rule. The rule would apply fo domestic and foreign firms that “manufacture, process, pack, or hold human food.” Under the new rule, these firms must have … Read more
The newly proposed produce safety rule of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) has a section devoted to sprouts because they “present a unique risk.” That’s because the ideal conditions for growing sprouts are also ideal for growing pathogens, as we have seen many times in recent years. Since 1996, there have been 30 “sproutbreaks” where … Read more
Slowly rolling out proposed rules mandated by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is one thing, but if the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) really wants to show consumers that it’s serious about protecting public health, it has more work to do So says the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), anyway. To show Americans that … Read more
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has finally released two proposed food safety rules that are part of the Food Safety Modernization Act. Four crucial rules have been held back for more than a year after they were to be implemented. The Food Safety Moderization Act (FSMA) was signed into law almost two years … Read more
The Food and Drug Administration has released its October to December 2012 progress report on implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). It details the actions taken by the government that are required by the Act, or empowered by the Act. In October, the FDA released updated Guidance for Industry on the use of … Read more
The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) of 2011 requires all companies that make, process, package or store food for human or animal consumption to register with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by January 31, 2013, or face penalty. After the January 2013 registration, companies will be required to re-register every two years. The … Read more