The human and animal food organisations will have to be extra vigilant to keep their operations transparent and clean as the United States Food and Drug Administration has decided on new set of safety rules to prevent food related hazards.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 48 million people, 1 in 6 Americans, get sick each year from foodborne diseases and approximately 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 people die as a result each year. The announcement will ensure that food companies are taking action and working with the FDA to prevent threats to customers on the front end, rather than waiting to act until an outbreak has occurred.
The new rules will require food manufacturers to submit food safety plans to the government to show they are keeping their operations clean.
The FDA said it expects to finalize additional rules regarding the growing and packaging of produce, as well as requirements that imported foods meet US safety standards, in coming months.
The Grocery Manufacturers Association, which represents a large swath of the nation’s food and beverage industry and had at times clashed with the FDA’s regulatory efforts, also praised Thursday’s rules and the agency for the “deliberative and inclusive approach it took in developing these regulations”.
The American Frozen Food Institute, which has been engaged in shaping the rules required of FDA to guide implementation of FSMA, is likewise pleased with the issuance of these final rules.
Over the period of last few years many serious food-horned outbreaks have occurred associated with food products like ice-cream, peanuts, spinach, caramel apples and cantaloupes. Smaller companies will have longer to comply with the regulations.
“We stand ready to work with the administration and Congress to ensure sufficient federal resources are allocated to FDA’s critical food safety activities without imposing new costs on food makers and consumers through user fees”, said Naasz.
This could mean anything from implementing measures to kill bacteria that’s known to grow in cheese to ensuring equipment is handled in a way that prevents allergens – like peanuts – from contaminating food.
There will also be a clampdown on imported foods through the Foreign Supplier Verification and Third-Party Certification programs.
Even still, Nestle added, it’s a big step toward a safer food supply, especially considering many facilities already follow these protocols. The rules put more of an onus on food manufacturers to be accountable for their facilities and for identifying hazards, the agency said.
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“For those of you who have been following this process closely and read about the original proposals and supplemental, there will be a very minimal number of new things”, said Michael Taylor, Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine, on a call with reporters.
