Inspection

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During a Tuesday afternoon workshop of the 2022 Food Safety Summit, regulators and the regulated industry shared suggestions for how to better communicate together and meet regulated requirements while maintaining a sensible level of operational necessity.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many companies to pivot to virtual food safety audits and inspections, but there has been reluctance to sustain this model of remote evaluations. Recently, advances have emerged in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and development of novel approaches to auditing that have worked to bridge the gap and help virtual audits and inspections move closer to gaining equivalency to traditional onsite formats.

Understanding the types of violations observed during inspections is a requirement for correctly citing a violation and providing quality feedback to the facility operator. Breakdowns in this chain of communication can lead to additional inspections and possible enforcement actions, which waste valuable time, money, and effort. To ensure that this chain is firm, inspectors are provided with access to training and continuing education, as needed, to properly identify violations and apply their guiding regulations.

Food Safety Matters welcomes Erik Mettler and Michael Rogers with FDA's Office of Regulatory Affairs and Travis Waller with the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food to discuss the Domestic Mutual Reliance program and the many benefits of formal agreements between FDA and state partners.
 

It can be challenging to maintain good working relationships with federal regulators when things are going well, but how do you leverage your best efforts during an inspection/audit especially when there are issues? Let's address how handling the inspection itself can be your most important asset, along with a fundamental understanding of the science and regulations that are in play.

While the fatal poisoning of more than 100 people with sulfanilamide sweetened with diethylene glycol occurred nearly 85 years ago, the herculean mobilization of federal, state, and local inspectors to retrieve product and prevent more deaths is as vital a lesson today as it was then.

As the U.S. emerges cautiously from the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is resuming standard operations for domestic inspections while continuing mission-critical work abroad.

The Moroccan government has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to authorize the importation of fresh eggplant for consumption into the U.S., but first it must analyze the pest risks. 

If you have received a food safety-related letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requiring an immediate response, then the battle-proven advice in this article will be extremely helpful.