Important changes to FDA rules through the Food Safety Modernization Act

The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law by President Obama on January 4, 2011.

Some of the main aspects of this new law which will affect your imports are as follows:

  • Preventive controls : for the first time, the FDA has a legislative mandate to require comprehensive, prevention-based controls across the food supply
  • Reinforced inspection and compliance : the law specifies how the FDA should inspect food producers
  • Imported food safety and importer accountability: for the first time, importers must verify that their foreign suppliers have adequate preventive controls in place to ensure safety
  • A BIENNIAL RENEWAL REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT FOR ALL FOOD FACILITIES (mandatory submission between October 1st and December 31st , starting in 2012)

The above is a short summary of the principle changes which will be enforced gradually over the next few months. More on the FDA – Food Safety Modernization Act Internet page at :

http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FSMA