Next week GFSI will be hosting 200 industry and government professionals to discuss leveraging GFSI in FSMA implementation. The GFSI Expert Briefing takes place on November 15 in Washington, D.C., and will look at the role of GFSI in the marketplace and the domestic and international collaboration necessary to comply with new regulations.
“Science guides industry and policymakers to the same place as we work towards our common objective of ensuring a safe food supply for consumers,” commented Mike Robach, chair of the GFSI Board of Directors in a press release from The Consumer Goods Forum. “Public-private dialogue and collaboration is paramount to achieving this goal.”
Speakers at the event come from a range of international companies, including Cargill, Dole, McDonald’s, Target, Walmart and Wegmans. FDA and other national policymakers and legislators will also be present. Industry briefings take place in the morning and afternoon.
Panel on controlling pathogens at last year’s Food Safety Consortium
Food Safety Leaders will meet to assess the status of FSMA implementation, the impact of GFSI alignment and important industry developments at the fourth annual Food Safety Consortium, December 5–9, 2016, in Schaumburg, IL. The Consortium brings together hundreds of Food Safety and Quality Assurance (FSQA) professionals, and scores of speakers over several days attending concurrent conference tracks, workshops, training programs, plenary sessions and exhibits.
“Engagement at this year’s Food Safety Consortium will be more powerful and valuable to the industry, as we have the convergence of key federal officials and top industry experts sharing expertise and guidance on the future of the global food safety industry,” says Rick Biros, president and publisher of Innovative Publishing. “With FSMA compliance dates now in motion, attendees will hear directly from FDA and other regulatory agencies on how implementation is going, the status of enforcement actions, how GFSI fits in and more.”
The Consortium conference begins on Wednesday, December 7, kicking off with a keynote presentation from Stephen Ostroff, M.D., deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine at FDA, followed by an “Ask the FDA” Q&A Town Hall. Frank Yiannas, vice president of food safety at Walmart, will deliver the lunch keynote presentation on December 7.
Conference tracks will address FSMA and GFSI compliance, food manufacturing and operations, supply chain management, laboratories, and ask the experts discussion groups.
Pre-conference (December 5) and post-conference (December 9) workshop topics include Preventive Controls in Human Foods training, supplier verification, HACCP to HARPC, SQF Information Day and recall strategies.
About Innovative Publishing: Innovative Publishing Company LLC (IPC) delivers industry-specific opportunities for business growth and professional development through an integrated B2B platform that includes online publishing, conferences, webinars and hybrid events. IPC launched MedTech Intelligence @MTI_Editor (https://www.medtechintelligence.com/) in 2010; Food Safety Tech @FoodSafetyTech (http://www.FoodSafetyTech.com) in 2012; and Cannabis Industry Journal @CannabisEditor (https://www.cannabisindustryjournal.com/ ) in 2016. Our focus is to provide game-changing knowledge and expert opinions about breaking news, innovative technology, emerging trends and ever-changing international regulations. Our mission is to aid in the advancement and progress of global industries that contribute to a healthier world.
FSMA rule for “Mitigation Strategies to Protect Food against Intentional adulteration” (or FSMA Intentional Adulteration rule) is aimed at protecting the U.S. food supply against acts intended to cause wide-scale harm to public health. The rule is a major breakthrough, since it takes food defense to a practical level, into the processes of a food facility. The notion of food defense has been around for many years, but it is safe to say that FSMA gave food defense a new momentum by incorporating it into a regulatory framework, hence facilitating its integration into the food system.
To understand intentional adulteration, it would be essential to cover the basics. PAS 96 and other schemes have taught us those basics, and FSMA created an environment for food defense notions to grow and evolve. Growth and evolution require a sustainable environment, a robust food defense system.
It is critical to consider threats and vulnerabilities in dealing with food defense at the planning stage. FSMA Intentional Adulteration rule makes reference mainly to vulnerabilities as a start. However, it is up to the facility to decide how far it would be willing to go to safeguard its food supply chain.
After all, the scope of food defense is not confined within the boundaries of the facility. An “inside-out” vulnerability assessment may prove to be effective, but a complementary outside-in analysis would render food defense more comprehensive, thus expanding its scope into critical areas within the supply chain.
Therefore, the Threat Assessment and Critical Control Point (TACCP) methodology of PAS 96 combined with the vulnerability assessment and food defense management requirements of FSMA Intentional Adulteration rule would be a winning combination in addressing FSMA compliance and mitigating intentional adulteration risks across the entire food supply chain.
With more than 130 years experience in Agriculture and Food businesses, we understand the challenges that you face. Protect your brand, build customer trust and open the door to a more profitable business with food industry solutions from SGS.
From training and inspection, audit and certification, testing and advisory services to retail store checks and mystery shopping our global team of industry experts help you guarantee that your operations meet the highest global standards.
Quality, safety and efficiency are key drivers in the food value chain. Each of these elements impacts on the sustainability of your business, the desirability of your products and the marketability of your business.
Hank Karayan, SGS North America, Inc. Global FSMA Program Director
The following are the results of Part III of the FSMA IQ Test. Haven’t taken it yet? Click here to take Part III. Under the results is Part IV of the IQ test, results of which will be posted next week.
Part III Answers:
cGMPs under FSMA require that outer garments be suitable to protect against allergen contamination. TRUE
79.5% answered correctly
Preventive controls may not include natural toxins. FALSE
78% answered correctly
You do not need to document records of all product testing under FSMA. FALSE
82% answered correctly
The hazard analysis process is determined within the food safety plans. TRUE
87% answered correctly
No special precautions are required for outdoor bulk storage vessels other than providing a hermetically sealed condition for the product being stored. FALSE
89% answered correctly
Under FSMA, FDA does not address employee protection plan, which is covered under EEOC. FALSE
McCrone Associates (MA), an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited lab, will be participating in the2016 Food Safety Consortium. Dr. Kathleen Martin will present “Particulate Contamination in Food–Or, Was that Supposed to be Crunchy?” on December 8 at 11:30 a.m. Dr. Martin will discuss multiple microscopy methods of identifying solid phase contaminants in foods and packaging. Her primary points include understanding the overall analysis process for particulate contaminant identification, an overview of the information provided by selected types of instrumentation, and case study examples showing how this analytical process is applied to real samples.
Visit our exhibit and meet with project scientists to explore what your needs are, especially with regard to preparing for U.S. FDA inspectors who will be checking for compliance with FSMA regulations. MA has extensive experience assisting pharmaceutical industry clients in meeting their regulatory obligations, and has been able to use that understanding to assist clients in the food industry. Forensic investigation is a key component of the work we do, and although forensic analyses are initially more costly than typical bulk analyses, identification of foreign material contamination can alleviate safety concerns and identify the root cause of your problem, saving you a lot more in the long term.
Your company may want to handle its contaminant issues internally; however, you may not be fully prepared. Hooke College of Applied Sciences, the educational unit of The McCrone Group (TMG), provides short training courses for industrial analysts to help your internal lab staff sharpen their contamination detection skills. The trusted advisors at McCrone Microscopes & Accessories, TMG’s instrument sales unit, are also able to help determine what your instrumentation needs are for your specific materials and methods. Please stop by our table and let us know how we can help improve your process.
In order to help small businesses with implementation of the FSMA Preventive Controls for Human Food and Animal Food rules, FDA has released compliance guidances. In an FDA release, the agency highlighted the following:
Small businesses (fewer than 500 full-time employees): Compliance with the human and animal food rules required by September 18, 2017
Very small businesses (those averaging less than $1 million per year in human food sales or $2.5 million per year in animal food sales): Required to maintain records supporting Qualified Facility status as of January 1, 2016
Qualified facilities must comply with the human and animal food rules by September 17, 2018
USP improves global health through public standards and related programs to help ensure the quality and safety of medicines and foods. USP’s Food Safety and Integrity Solutions, which include the Food Chemicals Codex with more than 1,200 standards (methods and specifications), food ingredient reference materials, the Food Fraud Database v2.0, and food fraud mitigation training and advising services help ensure the quality, safety, and integrity of the food supply and help companies meet regulatory requirements and mitigate supply chain risk.
Here are the results of Part II’s FSMA IQ Test. If you haven’t taken Part II yet, follow this link. Under the results is Part III of the IQ test, results of which will be posted next week.
Written supply chain plans are not included in FSMA food safety plans. FALSE
92% answered correctly
Mandatory recalls are provided under FSMA as a new requirement. TRUE
82% got this right
Under FSMA, FDA cannot unilaterally issue administrative detention and must work through a court order. FALSE
93% answered correctly
Under FSMA verification and validation, a thermometer challenge and calibration for use is an acceptable example of an established validation program and controls. TRUE
85% said “true”
Dogs may be allowed into some areas of the plant under FSMA. TRUE
ONLY 27% answered this correctly!
Verification effectiveness of the implementation of preventive controls needs to be evident but not documented under FSMA. FALSE
A recent report released by Friends of the Earth revealed that very few of the nation’s biggest food retailers have what it considers satisfactory policies and practices in pollinator protection, pesticide reduction and organic offerings. The organization graded 20 of largest retailers in the report, “Swarming the Aisles: Rating Top Retailers on Bee Friendly and Organic Food”.
In the category of publicly available policies on reducing or eliminating pesticides in order to protect pollinators, only Aldi, Costco and Whole Foods received passing grades.
“U.S. food retailers must take responsibility for how the products they sell are contributing to the bee crisis,” said Tiffany Finck-Haynes, food futures campaigner with Friends of the Earth, in a press release. “The majority of the food sold at top U.S. food retailers is produced with pollinator-toxic pesticides. According to Friends of the Earth, neonicotinoids (insecticides) are a leading cause of pollinator declines, while glyphosate (the most widely used herbicide) has been tied to monarch butterfly declines.
“To protect pollinators, we must eliminate pollinator-toxic pesticides from our farming systems and expand pollinator-friendly organic agriculture,” said Dr. Kendra Klein, staff scientist at FOE. “Organic farms support 50% more pollinator species than conventional farms. This is a huge opportunity for American farmers. Less than one percent of total U.S. farmland is in organic production — farmers need the support of food retailers to help them transition dramatically more acreage to organic.”
In conducting the report, FOE mainly used publicly available information sources such as company websites and annual reports, SEC filings, corporate social responsibility and sustainability reports, press coverage, and other forms of industry analysis.
“This guidance provides our current thinking on how to describe the hazard under each of the four rules and which documents we consider to be “documents of the trade” for the purpose of the statements accompanying the food,” according to an FDA release.
The draft is available on the Federal Register and is open for comment 180 days after publication (October 31).
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