The FDA recognizes that over forty-five million Americans are affected each year by foodborne illnesses, leading to health risks, hospitalization, and sometimes death. Because of these alarming rates, there is a new law called the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act that attempts to increase the frequency of food inspections. The main goal of the FSMA is to hold farmers, manufacturers, and restaurants responsible for maintaining food safety regulations.
Since there is a long chain of food suppliers for America, the FDA plans to mandate higher food regulations for each provider in order to prevent foodborne illnesses all together. Imported foods are a large contributor to such problems, and with FSMA, those providers will be held to stricter regulations that will ensure higher quality products are being delivered to the United States. There are new tools in place to ensure that imported foods meet U.S. safety standards prior to delivery to American consumers. The FDA can now accredit auditors to inspect the facilities overseas to check that they are following the required regulations under FSMA. Certain high risk foods being imported from suppliers will now be accompanied by certification under the new act. Any foreign provider who denies access for inspections will not be allowed to export their goods.
In the case where a certain type of food has been found to contain a foodborne illness, the FDA will have the authority to recall that item from all contaminated manufacturers and restaurants in order to prevent consumers from becoming infected. This is not typically a problem because most food providers are willing to cooperate with voluntary recalls, but if an organization refuses, the FDA now has the authority to pull the infected food from its supply. While recalls can be effective at protecting consumers, the goals of FSMA are to prevent foodborne illnesses from entering the food supply. This can be accomplished by educating food production businesses and ensuring that they understand the rules and regulations set forth. To ensure that farmers and manufacturers are following these rules, training programs are being developed to educate workers in these industries and to ensure their understanding and compliance. The FDA is also developing new rules for the safe harvesting and production of vegetables and fruits.
Businesses in the food industry can prepare for the upcoming regulations in food safety by evaluating their own practices and reading the guidelines set forth by the FDA. These guidelines are readily available to anyone who wishes to learn more on governmental websites. Farmers and workers can also participate in standardized training programs that will help educate them on proper safety production. When the companies that produce goods are complying with safety standards, restaurants will only receive high quality goods that contain no harmful infections or illnesses. The upcoming changes will take time to be fully implemented, but with the compliance of all parties in the food supply chain, American consumers will be better protected from preventable foodborne illness.
An excellent source of practical advice about food safety systems including produce traceability can be found at http://www.redlineforproduce.com/.
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