As per FDA about 48 million people get sick, 128000 are hospitalized and 3000 die every year from food borne illnesses. FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act) was signed into law in 2011 by President Obama to reform America’s food safety system. It enables FDA to focus on preventing food problems rather than reacting to problems after they have already occurred.
To implement FSMA, FDA has finalized seven major rules which recognize that ensuring food safety is a shared responsibility among various points in the global supply chain for both human and animal food. One of the rules that takes care of farms is Produce Safety Rule, officially known as Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption.
Produce Safety Rule established science-based standards for safe growing, harvesting, packing and holding of fruits and vegetables grown for human consumption. The rule lays down preventative measures that would help bring significant benefits to consumers. The measures take care of:
- Agricultural water
- Farm workers training on health and hygiene
- Biological soil amendments
- Domesticated and wild animals’ control
- Equipment, tools and building
- Sprouts
Food safety risk is high for certain foods example leafy vegetables. In November 2018, several warnings were issued to consumers to avoid eating lettuce in US, as there was an E. coli outbreak linked to it, while there were investigations ongoing.
FDA has provided various compliance dates depending on the size of producer and type of produce.
FDA will begin routine inspections of large farms, other than sprouts operations, in spring 2019. The routine inspection of small farms will begin in spring 2020.
Farmers may refer to the draft guidance created by FDA to know how these requirements can be met.
Liberty Management Group LTD is one of the leading FDA consulting group in the USA. LMG provides assistance with various FDA regulations.
Namrata
FDA Regulatory Consultant
support@libertymanagement.us
Published on February 20, 2019