Landmark Food Safety Proposed Rules Released
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently released a set of proposed rules on produce safety and preventive controls under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
Said FMI president and CEO Leslie G. Sarasin, “The proposed rules – Preventative Controls for Human Food and Produce Safety – are important components to implement the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, which FMI supported when it was enacted by Congress and signed into law two years ago. The food retail community shares the commitment to selling safe, quality food to its customers.”
“FDA’s proposed regulations on preventive controls and fresh produce form the cornerstone of FSMA,” said Joe Levitt, partner in Hogan Lovells U.S. LLP and the former director of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. “They get to the heart of the new law’s paradigm shift from reaction to prevention.”
Regarding the announcement, Bryan Silbermann, president and CEO of Produce Marketing Association (PMA), said “Food safety remains a top priority for our members and we look forward to effective enhancements in food safety that not only protects public health, but bolsters consumer confidence.”
In the coming days, Silbermann added, PMA will “provide an online summary of the proposed rules and will be scheduling a free webinar for members with FDA and PMA experts. Over the next few months,” he continued, “we’ll read and analyze the proposed rules and work with PMA’s volunteer leaders to submit commentary to the FDA,” who will then “revise the rules in a final form which will include a timeline for implementation."
In a statement by GMA president and CEO Pamela G. Bailey, she noted that the FSMA “signed into law by President Obama two years ago today is a landmark piece of legislation that represents the most comprehensive reform of our nation’s food safety laws and regulations in more than seventy years.”
“Consumers expect industry and government to work together to provide Americans and consumers around the world with the safest possible products,” Bailey continued. “FSMA and its implementation effort can serve as a role model for what can be achieved when the private and public sectors work together to achieve a common goal.”