FDA issued revisions to the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards (MFRPS), which are food safety standards for state regulatory programs that oversee facilities that manufacture, process, pack or hold foods. Updates have been made to the standards, along with newly defined terms, and new sections and appendices.

Currently 43 state programs are enrolled in MFRPS, which aims to provide an integrated national risk-based food safety system. Ten standards make up the regulatory program standards; elements include program’s regulatory foundation, staff training, inspection, quality assurance, food defense preparedness and response, foodborne illness and incident investigation, enforcement, education and outreach, resource management, laboratory resources, and program assessment, according to FDA.

“The MFRPS establish a uniform basis for measuring and improving the performance of prevention, intervention, and response activities of manufactured food regulatory programs in the United States,” according to an agency release. The MFRPS promotes stronger partnerships between FDA and state programs, offering dedicated staff to work with program staff, provides opportunities to apply for funding to assist in implementation efforts, offers tools to help companies build a quality management system in order to measure and enhance performance and accountability, and aims to promote internal program consistency.

The 118-page document is available for download on FDA’s website.