![Rick Biros, Priya Rathnam, and Andrew Seaborn, 2018 Food Safety Supply Chain Conference](https://foodsafetytech.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/01BirosRathnamSeaborn_FSSC2018-200x130.jpg)
How well do you know your suppliers? Can you trust your supplier’s suppliers? What kind of technology are you using to assess and ensure your suppliers are in compliance with regulatory requirements? These are common questions food companies must ask themselves on a regular basis. These and more were addressed at the 2018 Food Safety Supply Chain Conference, held last week at USP in Rockville, MD. Stay tuned for coverage of the event in upcoming articles. In the meantime, here are some top insights shared by FDA and others in industry.
“We’ve issued a limited number of warning letters (two), and they were due to really egregious issues. Where there were previously warning letters issued, we’re seeing a lot more ‘regulatory meetings’.” – Priya Rathnam, Supervisory Consumer Safety Officer, CFSAN, on FDA’s enforcement this fiscal year.
Criteria for FSMA auditors also includes the “soft skills”, aka ISO 19011, auditor personal attributes. –Josh Grauso, Senior Manager, Food Safety & Quality System Audits, UL
![Fabien Robert, Nestle 2018 Food Safety Supply Chain Conference](https://foodsafetytech.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/FabienRobert_Nestle_FSSC2018.jpg)
It’s concerning that so many QA managers (and other pros) today don’t know extent of risk assessment they need to carry out. – Chris Domenico, Safefood360, Territory Manager for North America
“Blockchain is more than a buzzword at the moment.”- Simon Batters, Vice President of Technology Solutions, Lloyd’s Register
![2018 Food Safety Supply Chain Conference, Blockchain](https://foodsafetytech.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/BlockchainPanel_2018_FSSC.jpg)
Sometimes food safety doesn’t win; sometimes you need the business acumen to show that implementing supply chain efficiencies will create the win. – Gina Kramer, Executive Director, Savour Food Safety International
![Bryan Cohn, 2018 Food Safety Supply Chain Conference](https://foodsafetytech.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/BryanCohn_SealSeasons2018FSSC.jpg)
The FSMA Sanitary transportation rule is not as straightforward as you think. We need more training. – Cathy Crawford, President, HACCP Consulting Group