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Regulatory concerns include audits and inspections, government agencies, the pivotal Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), and international standards and guidances.
Audits are an important tool for verifying the safety and quality of a company's or facility's food products. Audits are conducted both internally and by certified third-party certification entities. The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) is a private organization that benchmarks different auditing certification platforms as meeting its criteria to provide a harmonized umbrella certification.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for regulating about 80 percent of the U.S. food supply, encompassing all foods and food ingredients introduced into or offered for sale in interstate commerce, except for meat, poultry, certain processed egg products, and catfish, which are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) gave FDA new authority to regulate the way foods are grown, harvested, and processed. FSMA grants FDA the authority to impose mandatory recalls and has paved the way for the issuance of more than a dozen rulemakings and at least ten guidance documents. FDA's New Era of Smarter Food Safety builds on the work done to implement FSMA.
Guidelines for industry include draft guidance from regulatory agencies and recommended practices for industry to help ensure the production of safe food that is free from contamination.
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) is a management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of microbiological, chemical, and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement, and handling, to manufacturing, distribution, and consumption of finished products.
Inspections cover many areas of food and beverage production, from farms and ranches to food processing facilities to restaurants. Inspectors are trained to ensure that facilities and equipment are in proper working order and properly sanitized, maintained, and permitted.
Food safety standards vary by country and world region, and different aspects of food safety are regulated differently depending on the region. Harmonization and tightening of food safety standards around the world are important as emerging countries seek to improve quality of life by ensuring safer food for all people.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) oversees meat, poultry, and egg products, accounting for 20 percent or less of the food supply. The majority of the food supply (80 percent or more) is regulated by FDA. USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) ensures that the U.S. meat, poultry, and processed egg supply is safe and properly labeled.
In a letter distributed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (FDA’s CFSAN) to FDA staff, CFSAN Director Susan T. Mayne, Ph.D. announced that she will be stepping down from her position on May 31, 2023.
On March 8, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released an Immediate National Strategy to Increase the Resiliency of the U.S. Infant Formula Market. On the same day, the agency’s response to the recent infant formula safety and supply crisis was called into question during a hearing with the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services Hearing.
The European Food Safety Authority has announced an open call for data regarding food additive occurrence in food and beverages intended for human consumption.
After a review, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) has deemed Paraguay’s food safety inspection system for raw beef products to be equivalent to that of the U.S., which is a step that could allow Paraguay to export beef to the U.S. for the first time since 1997.
The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) is seeking stakeholder input on official advice for the proper use of precautionary allergen labels (PALs), which suggests that food businesses specify which of the 14 major allergens to which a PAL refers.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has revealed its strategic food safety priorities for 2022–2031, which have the goal of ensuring “safe food for all people at all times.”
California Assembly Bill 418 would place a statewide ban on the sale of processed foods containing red dye 3, titanium dioxide, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil, or propyl paraben, due to possible associated negative human health consequences.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has completed its second premarket consultation for a food made from cultured animal cells intended for human consumption. FDA evaluated the information submitted by GOOD Meat Inc. and has no further questions at this time about the company’s safety conclusion.
On March 17, 2023, two bipartisan pieces of legislation were introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives with the goal of requiring the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate cannabidiol (CBD) products in foods and dietary supplements.
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.
On Demand:The first in this webinar series focuses on Core Element 2 of the New Era blueprint, smarter tools and approaches for prevention and outbreak response.
On Demand: The second in this webinar series focuses on Core Element 1 of the New Era blueprint, tech-enabled traceability, as well as the contents of the final traceability rule—“Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods”—issued on November 15.
On Demand: The third in this webinar series focuses on an aspect of Core Element 3 of the New Era blueprint, Retail Food Safety Modernization, and its associated foodborne illness prevention strategies.
Live Streaming at Food Safety Summit on May 11 at 9:15 am CDT: This discussion will center on a conversation with top regulators and advisory groups about the key issues, updates, and initiatives happening within their organizations.