The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a public meeting on Tuesday in downtown Chicago to discuss the FDA’s planning efforts for the Food Safety Modernization Act implementation (FSMA) on both the state and national level. The meeting focused on the new public health preventive controls measures outlined in the Human and Animal Preventive Controls Final Rules.
These rules describe which human and animal food production facilities will be required to register, application of Commercial Good Manufacturing Practices and Preventive Controls, and supply chain verification procedures. Attendees were provided the opportunity for extensive question and answer sessions with FDA employees, and state and industry panelists, to clarify portions of the Preventive Controls Rules.
FDA officials also led the attendees through the current status of FSMA implementation and future implementation strategies. Implementation strategies will include training of FDA and state regulators on inspection methodology, and industry communication to achieve compliance with companies’ Food Safety Plans. The agency will closely monitor and assist in the success of implementation through the drafting of guidance documents and creating a corresponding resource library. The agency will also work to achieve uniformity and understanding of FSMA regulations with a web-based Technical Assistance Network utilizing FDA and state field staff, and subject matter experts.
Complete information on the public meeting, as well as all presentations from the meeting, is available here. The public can also contact FDA at any time with questions regarding FSMA and its implementation by submitting an inquiry here.
