New legislation gives food safety a much-needed makeover

new-legislation-gives-food-safety-a-much-needed-makeover<p>Did you ever read the novel, <i>The Jungle</i>, by Upton Sinclair? If you haven't and you plan on eating again at some point in your life I'd say pass on the story. The handling and packaging of food hasn't always been a safe practice. Get the details on how the Food Safety Modernization Act will enable the FDA to limit the potential for food-borne illnesses and ensure your product is safe for the market.</p> <p>The Food Safety Modernization Act, or FSMA as it's often referred to, is a food safety law that grants the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) the authority to develop processes, rules and restrictions concerning food products coming to market. The law, which was signed into action by President Obama in January 2011, is multi-faceted, focusing on five basic points:</p> <ul> <li>Prevention</li> <li>Inspection and Compliance</li> <li>Response</li> <li>Imports</li> <li>Enhanced partnerships</li> </ul> <h3>Prevention</h3> <p>Prevention is a pretty simple concept to grasp. If you plan ahead (which translates to scrutinize over every detail in the FDA vernacular) the likelihood of trouble in the future is minimized. Applied to the food industry this means that preparation and packaging facilities must be evaluated for possible food safety hazards. The facilities must also be made to implement and monitor food-borne illness prevention tactics and specify actions to be taken if problems do arise.</p> <h3>Inspection and Compliance</h3> <p>Prevention is all fine and dandy, but these efforts only work if the standards are respected and enforced. The inspection and compliance portion of the law allows the FDA to supervise and ensure requirement compliance through routinely mandated inspections and access to facility records.</p> <h3>Response</h3> <p>The FDA is equipped with the tools to respond effectively when the risk of food-borne illnesses emerge. Such actions include issuing mandatory recalls (FDA takes over when responsible companies fail to do so), detaining products and if hazardous enough, even suspension of registration can occur. Thorough recordkeeping and tracking of high-risk foods are also important components of the response section, allowing the agency to know just where to swoop product from in order to keep the public safe.</p> <h3>Imports</h3> <p>This act doesn't intend to limit its influence with U.S. products, but to bridge the standards gap between domestic and international goods. Safety measures include: verifying that foreign supplier facilities comply with preventative safety standards and if not, denying entry of any food product if the foreign supplier will not allow the FDA access to their practices. These and other overarching guidelines will better ensure that imported goods meet U.S. standards of safety.</p> <h3>Enhanced Partnerships</h3> <p>It's no accident that the implementation of this law requires the cooperation of many parties and government sectors, both domestic (local, state and national) and international. Its momentum is based on the concept that collaboration is key – two heads are better than one. A unified effort is essential in order to reach food safety standards.</p> <h3>The bottom line</h3> <p>So, what does all this mean to you? First off, getting a food product to store shelves won't be a walk in the park. There are standards to live up to, not only in theory but in physical actuality (records to be kept and so on¦). Though the guidelines may seem stringent, if enforced effectively, the Food Safety Modernization Act could save several of the 1 in 6 Americans (48,000,000) that are plagued by food-borne illnesses each year.</p> <p><b>Read more about the <a href=http://www.fda.gov/food/foodsafety/fsma/default.htm>Food Modernization Act</a> and tell us what you think about the updated food legislation in the comments. </b></p>