Food Safety Specialists in St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN
Photo by Axel Ahoi on Unsplash
The Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA) requires that any company importing food products from overseas suppliers to have a Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) in place to analyze suppliers to ensure proper food safety. Do you have a program in place yet? If not, the time is now!
The general compliance date for having a properly set up FSVP was May 30, 2017.
This means that should the FDA come in to inspect your records related to importing from a foreign supplier, all the necessary documentation is in place. With respect to the FSMA and FSVP, the FDA’s immediate goal is to “educate before it regulates”. However, if your program is not in place and a large food safety contamination occurs, expect fines and potential shut down of operations to happen rather quickly.
If you do not yet have a program in place or do not know how the FSMA affects you, rest assured that many companies in the food industry are in the same position. Many food companies I speak with, especially in regards to trading or brokerage firms, are not yet ready for an FDA inspection. They do not yet comprehend that the FSMA now applies to them if they are listed as the ‘importer of record’ on the bills of lading. Trading companies are now ‘shippers’ with regards to the FSMA and have many more responsibilities under this law than ever before.
Rest assured that there is still time to get a fully compliant program in place to ensure compliance with the FDA regulations. The beauty of the new law is that while there are general guidelines towards compliance, the law leaves much leeway to companies to ensure their programs fully protect the American public from potential food safety issues.
Whether you have a program set up, are not sure if you need a program, or want help in setting up your FSMA compliance program, reach out to Ramey Consulting, LLC today! We have set up FSMA compliance programs in the past, are PCQI and FSVP certified and can help your company set up its compliance program.
Reach out to:
Matthew Ramey
[email protected]
651-317-9675