FSMA Featured Article

FSMAInfo Week in Review: FDA, FSMA, FOIA

By Ken Briodagh
Editorial Director

Hey folks, I hope you’re all having a great week. We here at FSMAInfo Week in Review are ready to run down the big stories from the last week on the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) for those of you who haven’t had a chance to keep up with us daily. Here on FSMAInfo.com, we aim to be the best resource for supply chain logistics companies trying to ready for full implementation of FSMA.

And now, the news:

All food facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or store food, beverages, or dietary supplements for consumption in the United States are required to register with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to a report recently obtained by Registrar Corp., there were 207,655 food facilities registered with FDA as of January 1, 2016. Of those registered food facilities, 120,822 were located outside of the United States. The registered facilities reported in the FOIA request is significantly lower than the 300,539 registered food facilities FDA reported on the agency's Food Facility Registration Statistics page on February 4, 2016. According to FDA, this is because facilities that engage in more than one activity (manufacturing, labeling, etc.) are recorded multiple times on FDA's website, thus leading to inflated registration numbers.

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) will hold three workshops on the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) final rules on March 31 in Montpelier, April 4 in Burlington, and April 5 in Rutland. These workshops will provide an overview of the FSMA Produce Safety Rule, which affects farms that grow, harvest, pack or hold fresh produce.

In a recent blog post on FDAVoice, Howard Sklamberg, deputy commissioner for global regulatory operations and policy, FDA, he wrote that the FDA is reaching out to international partners and stakeholders to discuss implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

Well, there’s your roundup for this week, friends. That’s not all there is on FSMAInfo.com, however, so make sure you click over and check it out. For now, eat safe.