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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published a Small Entity Compliance Guide for the Food Traceability Final Rule fulfilling Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Section 204.

The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) has released a report commissioned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that evaluates food traceability trends based on 90 submissions from teams participating in FDA’s 2021 Low- or No-Cost Tech-Enabled Traceability Challenge. IFT determined that the knowledge, means, and technology have been developed to make end-to-end tech-enabled traceability a reality, but it will not be realized without collective action and continued innovation among the diverse food industry community.

In his first media interview since departing from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in February, Frank Yiannas joins Food Safety Matters to discuss his experiences and lessons learned during his tenure at the agency, his career before and after FDA, his perspective on the proposed reorganization of FDA's Human Foods Program, his own “unfinished business,” and other topics.

With the COVID-19 pandemic’s classification as a Public Health Emergency comes to an end, temporary flexibilities granted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to aid the food industry through the pandemic are set to expire. FDA has also issued a guidance for industry intended to help qualified exempt farms subject to the Produce Safety Rule with transitioning away from the temporary allowances.

The Institute of Food Technologists’ Global Food Traceability Center (IFT’s GFTC) has released eleven new commodity-specific educational videos covering key sections of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Food Traceability Final Rule.

Of all the key features of FDA's Traceability Final Rule, the Traceability Lot Code (TLC) stands out for its criticality and understated complexity. This crucial code serves as a breadcrumb trail, highlighting every step a product takes through the supply chain. To meet the TLC requirements, industry actors will need to make significant modifications to current lot coding practices. 

The University of Vermont Extension’s Northeast Center to Advance food Safety (UVM’s NECAFS) has released a series of factsheets on produce safety in hydroponic and aquaponic operations for educators, regulators, and producers. The new factsheets guide readers through produce safety considerations specific to hydroponic and aquaponic operations.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a report, titled, Activities for the Safety of Imported Seafood. The document shares the steps that FDA is taking to ensure that seafood imported to the U.S. meets food safety requirements and the standards of domestically produced seafood.   

Federal and state regulators, along with consumer groups, are shifting their food safety focus toward customer-facing businesses.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we talk with Susan Mayne, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Mayne discusses the work she oversees at CFSAN, such as implementing guidances and policies related to FSMA and the Closer to Zero initiative, as well as her perspective on the future of human foods regulation at FDA amid a proposed reorganization of the Foods program. Additionally, Bob Ferguson, President of Strategic Consulting Inc., speaks about his latest Food Safety Insights column on how food processors are preparing to comply with the FSMA Food Traceability Final Rule.