FDA Steps Up with New Food Safety Standards
The FDA is encouraging the public to comment on new proposed food safety rules that would be designed to help prevent foodborne illness. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) would consist of two measures. The first rule would require all makers of food, foreign or domestic, that will be sold in the United States to develop a plan to prevent their products from causing foodborne illness, and a plan for correcting any problems that may arise. The second rule focuses on farms. The FDA is proposing enforceable safety standards that focus on science-based and risk-based standards for the safe production of fruits and vegetables.
“The FDA knows that food safety, from farm to fork, requires partnership with industry, consumers, local, state and tribal governments, and our international trading partners,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, MD, in a press release. “Our proposed rules reflect the input we have received from these stakeholders and we look forward to working with the public as they review the proposed rules.”
Information about FSMA can be found here.
