Tag Archives: webinar

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FDA Announces Publication of Final Traceability Rule and Informational Webinar

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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The FSMA Final Rule on Traceability was published in the Federal Register on November 21, meaning the rule will go into effect on January 20, 2023 (60 days after the publication date). The FDA will hold an informational webinar on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, from 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm (ET) to provide an overview of the final rule, including the foods and entities covered by the rule, explain the exemptions from the rule, and to discuss the recordkeeping requirements of the rule.  The FDA will answer pre-submitted questions and take questions during the webinar.

The final rule establishes additional traceability recordkeeping requirements for those that manufacture, process, pack or hold certain foods, including fresh leafy greens, nut butters, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables and ready-to-eat deli salads. In collaboration with industry, the FDA will be able to more rapidly and effectively identify the origin and route of travel of certain contaminated foods to prevent or mitigate foodborne illness outbreaks, address credible threats of serious adverse health consequences or death, and minimize overly broad advisories or recalls that implicate unaffected food products.

“This rule lays the foundation for even greater end-to-end food traceability across the food system that we’re working on as part of the New Era of Smarter Food Safety initiative,” said Frank Yiannas, FDA deputy commissioner for food policy and response. “This standardized, data-driven approach to traceability recordkeeping helps create a harmonized, universal language of food traceability that will help pave the way for industry to adopt and leverage more digital, interoperable and tech-enabled traceability systems both in the near term and the future.”

Foods subject to the final rule requirements appear on the Food Traceability List (FTL). To determine which foods should be included on the FTL, the FDA developed a risk-ranking model for food tracing based on the factors that Congress identified in Section 204 of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). These foods include fresh leafy greens, melons, peppers, sprouts, herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, and tropical tree fruits, as well as shell eggs, nut butters, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, ready-to-eat deli salads, cheeses (other than hard cheese), finfish and crustaceans.

The FDA released a proposed rule in 2020 and held a public comment period where comments were received from food producers and other stakeholders through early 2021. In response, the agency has made several changes to the final rule so that it better aligns with current industry approaches to food traceability and harmonizes points in the supply chain where records must be maintained.

Key features of the final rule include:

  • Critical Tracking Events: at specific points in the supply chain—such as harvesting, cooling, initial packing, receiving, transforming, and shipping FTL foods—records containing Key Data Elements are required.
  • Traceability Plan: information essential to help regulators understand an entity’s traceability program. These include a description of the procedures used to maintain required records, descriptions of procedures used to identify foods on the FTL, descriptions of how traceability lot codes are assigned, a point of contact for questions regarding the traceability plan and a farm map for those that grow or raise a food on the FTL.
  • Additional Requirements: maintenance of records as original paper or electronic records, or true copies; providing requested records to the FDA within 24 hours of a request (or within a reasonable time to which the FDA has agreed); and providing records in an electronic sortable spreadsheet when necessary to assist the FDA during an outbreak, recall or other threat to public health.
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USDA FSIS To Host Webinar on Expanded Data Access for PHIS

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is inviting industry to take part in a webinar on October 4, 2022, from 1pm to 2 pm ET to learn more about the expanded functions in the Public Health Information System (PHIS) for industry users, which was announced in the September 9, 2022, Constituent Update.

The expansion, launching in October, will allow industry users to review and suggest modifications to FSIS data associated with their establishment profile, such as product volumes and product groups. FSIS inspection program personnel will then be able to verify and approve or deny the modifications within PHIS.

Pre-registration for the webinar is not required. Attendees can access the webinar on the FSIS website event page. A recording of the webinar, along with presentation slides, will be posted on the FSIS website for those unable to attend.

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Upcoming Webinar Highlights How Standards Support the Food Supply Chain

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Join Food Safety Tech and food safety leaders from BSI for a 60-minute webinar on “Food Safety & Quality: How Standards Support the Food Supply Chain” on Monday, December 13. Sponsored by Intelex, the complimentary event will educate attendees about key standards in ensuring food safety and quality in the supply chain—including ISO 22000, ISO 9001 and the new cold chain logistics standard, ISO 23412:2020, which addresses indirect, temperature-controlled refrigerated delivery services. Featured speakers are Sara Walton, sector lead (food) – standards at BSI, and Amanda McCarthy, chair of AW/90, quality systems for food industry at BSI. The event begins at 12 pm ET. Register now!

Food Safety Tech Survey: Are You Ready to Return to Corporate Travel?

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Business travel took a significant hit last year and 2021 has yet to see a rebound. Over the past two years, Food Safety Tech has strived to continue to educate the food safety community without missing a beat—in both 2020 and 2021 we converted our annual Food Safety Consortium into a virtual event series, and we ramped up our other web seminars.

As we look ahead to 2022, we are planning a great lineup of virtual events. However, we also want to get a feel for our audience’s comfort level in getting back to traveling for business—and even if you’re comfortable traveling, is there money in the budget for it?

As a valued member of the food safety community, we invite you to participate in the following brief survey. As a show of appreciation, you will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a free registration for the 2022 Food Safety Consortium.

Create your own user feedback survey

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Trends in Consumer Buying Behavior: Complimentary Webinar June 16

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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What matters to consumers when they buy food and beverage products, and what do they see on labels? Next week, food safety professionals can gains from insight on this topic during a complimentary Food Safety Tech webinar.

Sponsored by DNV, this virtual event will present research results conducted by DNV and (independently) Natalia Velikova, Ph.D., professor and associate director at Texas Tech University and Sophie Ghvanidize, Ph.D., agribusiness lecturer at Geisenheim University in Germany on consumer behavior and trust, when buying well established and novice food and beverage product brands, along with the impact of information on labels regarding products nutritional and health benefits, environmental impact of production and social responsibility of producers on consumer choices.

Event: What matters to consumers when buying food & beverage products, and what do they see on labels?
When: Wednesday, June 16, 1 pm ET
Where: Your office
Register for this complimentary virtual event now.

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Webinar Series: Improve Your Hazard Analysis

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Audit
Patricia Wester, PA Wester Consulting
Patricia Wester, PA Wester Consulting and Founder, The Association for Food Safety Auditing Professionals

The most commonly cited observation during a Preventive Controls inspection is an incomplete or incorrect hazard analysis, according to FDA data. Food Safety Tech is hosting a special complimentary webinar series, instructed by Patricia Wester, founder of The Association for Food Safety Auditing Professionals, that will provide attendees with important tips on conducting and documenting a thorough hazard analysis. During the one-hour event, Wester will help participants understand how to recognize gaps in a hazard analysis as well as share best practices for closing those gaps. The content is geared toward food safety professionals and auditors who develop, manage or review food safety plans in a Preventive Controls landscape.

What: “Did You Know?” Tips on Improving Your Hazard Analysis
Date: Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Time: 12pm – 1pm ET
Register for the webinar