Food safety experts from North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, Ohio State University, and High Point University have jointly developed a free, four-hour training course to help small- and medium-sized businesses comply with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) Final Food Traceability Rule under Section 204(d) of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA 204).

The compliance date for the Food Traceability Rule was pushed back by 30 months, to July 20, 2028, by the Trump administration in 2025, but the retail foodservice sector is still working toward compliance. The rule requires additional recordkeeping for any entities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold foods that are part of FDA’s Food Traceability List (FTL). The regulation is intended to help public health authorities more quickly identify the source of foodborne illness in an outbreak. Businesses covered by the rule include restaurants, grocery stores, food processing facilities, and agricultural operations.

"The FDA's Food Traceability Rule will be a valuable tool for food safety and public health, but there are two complications," says Ellen Shumaker, a food safety expert at North Carolina State University, who led development of the training course. "First, many of the people responsible for complying with the rule may not know it exists or when it will go into effect. Second, the rule itself is complicated and will likely be difficult for managers to comply with without training. Our goal is to help businesses prepare before the regulations take effect."

The first course begins February 2 and consists of both online and in-person sessions. The online component takes less than an hour, while the in-person session takes less than three hours. The course is free and will be offered twice a month during spring and once a month during summer in 2026.

Restaurant and food retail managers who are interested in registering for the course can find times, locations, and registration information here.