Public encouraged to comment on new proposals.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed two new food safety rules that will help prevent foodborne illness. The proposed rules implement the landmark, bipartisan FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and are available for public comment for the next 120 days. FDA encourages Americans to review and comment on these important proposed rules.
The proposed rules build on significant strides made during the Obama Administration, including the first egg safety rule protecting consumers from Salmonella and stepped up testing for E. coli in beef as well as existing voluntary industry guidelines for food safety, which many producers, growers and others currently follow.
The rules follow extensive outreach by FDA to the produce industry, the consumer community, other government agencies and the international community. Since January 2011, FDA staff have toured farms and facilities nationwide and participated in hundreds of meetings and presentations with global regulatory partners, industry stakeholders, consumer groups, farmers, state and local officials, and the research community.
These two FSMA rules are part of an integrated reform effort that focuses on prevention and addresses the safety of foods produced domestically and imported, with additional rules to be published shortly.
The first rule proposed would require makers of food to be sold in the United States, whether produced at a foreign- or domestic-based facility, to develop a formal plan for preventing their food products from causing foodborne illness. The rule would also require them to have plans for correcting any problems that arise. FDA seeks public comment on this proposal.
FDA also seeks public comment on the second proposed rule released, which proposes enforceable safety standards for the production and harvesting of produce on farms. This rule proposes science- and risk-based standards for the safe production and harvesting of fruits and vegetables.
To view the full FDA News Release, please go to: http://www.fda.gov.
To view the full Federal Register pre-publication document for the proposed rule entitled, "Current Good Manufacturing Practice and Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food," please go to: http://www.ofr.gov.
To view the full Federal Register pre-publication document for the proposed rule entitled, "Standards for Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption," please go to: http://www.ofr.gov.
To view the full Federal Register pre-publication document for the "Draft Qualitative Risk Assessment of Risk of Activity/Food Combinations for Activities (Outside the Farm Definition) Conducted in a Facility Co-Located on a Farm," which accompanies the proposed preventive controls for human food rule, please go to: http://www.ofr.gov.
To view fact sheets and other materials associated with the two proposed rules, please go to: http://www.fda.gov/.
For instructions on how to comment on proposed regulations, please go to:
http://www.fda.gov.
(All content original to FDA: http://www.fda.gov/)