Compliance Resources to Help you Stay Current

Republished from www.foodpolitics.com with kind permission of the author

Government's Food Regressions: FDA and USDA

It’s pretty depressing to watch what’s happening to the gains in food and nutrition policy so hard won in the last few years.

Nothing but bad news:

Menu labeling: The FDA is submitting interim final rules, a tactic to delay implementation of menu labeling, which was supposed to start on May 5. Why? The National Association of Convenience Stores and the National Grocers Association filed a petition asking for the delay. Pizza sellers have been lobbying like mad to avoid having to post calories.

The U.S. FDA has recently released two Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) compliance guidance documents to aid small businesses with the implementation of the Preventive Controls for Human Food and Preventive Controls for Animal Food rules.

The guidance summaries who need to comply with the rule, who is exempt from parts of the rules, and outlines key information for qualified facilities.

GMA to FDA: Extend Timeline for Sodium Reduction Guidance

The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), in comments submitted to the FDA regarding its sodium reduction guidelines, has urged FDA to extend its timeline for meeting short-term reduction goals from two to at least four years.

In June, the FDA issued draft sodium reduction guidance for the industry that are intended to help Americans gradually reduce sodium intake from the current average of 3,400 mg per day to 3,000 mg per day and eventually 2,300 mg per day. October 17 was the deadline for comments on the short-term targets.

The FDA’s new strategic plan: open for public comment

I am late getting to the FDA’s July announcement of the release of its work plan for the next ten years, Foods and Veterinary Medicine (FVM) Program’s Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2016-2025

Pepsi to reduce sugar in its drinks? Really?

PepsiCo, yesterday, announced that it had launched its sustainability report with an agenda for 2025.

The sustainability promises look good, but reporters called me for comments only on the first goal in its Products agenda:

A draft guidance, published by the State Council's Legislative Affairs Office, is soliciting public opinion for revising and regulating China’s online food sales. The draft regulation calls for stringent liabilities and rules for food producers and operators of online sales platforms. It also states that China's food safety laws and regulations must be applied to its food imports and exports through e-commerce channels. The public invite to comment through multiple means will stay open till Nov. 19.

The FDA has just approved AquAdvantage's genetically engineered (GMO) Atlantic salmon. The salmon will not have to be labeled as GMO.

Last month, the New York City Board of Health voted to require chain restaurants to publish warnings when menu items contain more than the recommended daily limit for sodium, thus taking the lead on regulating the amount of salt in foods.

USDA and HHS announce that sustainability will not be part of the Dietary Guidelines.

This year, we will release the 2015 edition, and though the guidelines have yet to be finalized, we know they will be similar in many key respects to those of past years. Fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy, whole grains and lean meats and other proteins, and limited amounts of saturated fats, added sugars and sodium remain the building blocks of a healthy lifestyle.

Maggi Noodles: First Food Recall in India

Nestle India's Maggi enjoyed leadership in the instant noodles category for decades till last week when it completely vanished from the market. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) ordered a total recall of all nine variants of the best-selling noodles brand. FSSAI has been in the process of streamlining its food recall regulations for nearly five years now. Nestle's food scandal couldn’t have come at a worse time as the agency hastened to finalize its regulations and directives to show Maggi the door within weeks after the scandal broke out. Now the brand holds the ignoble honor of being the first ever food product to be recalled in India.

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) of 2011 not only formulated regulations to protect consumers by ensuring safety in the manufacture and production of food, but also includes statutes to protect employees who turn whistleblowers.

This article gives a brief overview and summary of these provisions.
 

Under European legislation, food additives must be authorized before they can be used in foods. In December 2008, a new regulatory package on Food Improvement Agents was adopted.

This article gives an overview and summary of requirements of the EU's regulations on additives, enzymes and flavorings.

On September 14, the FDA announced that it was creating a new, streamlined and integrated system to effectively and rapidly respond to human and animal foodborne illness outbreaks. The agency has named the system as the FDA Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation (CORE) Network.

This article gives details about this new FDA initiative.

The Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906 (FMIA) was a United States Congress Act that worked to prevent adulterated or misbranded meat and meat products from being sold as food and to ensure that meat and meat products are slaughtered and processed under sanitary conditions. The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is responsible for developing rules and regulations for the production of wholesome and safe foods and providing regulatory oversight during day-to-day production.

The Egg Products Inspection Act was passed by the U.S Congress in December, 1970. The Act is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and imposes specific inspection requirements for two categories of eggs, namely, egg products and shell eggs. This article explains the requirements of this act, egg categorization and classification requirements.

ISO 22000 is an international standard that defines the requirements of a food safety management system covering all organizations in the food chain from “farm to fork”. Since it is a generic food safety management standard, it can be used by any organization directly or indirectly involved in the food chain. It applies to all organizations in the food chain.

The European General Product Safety Directive (2001/95/EC) directive covers nearly all products sold in the European Union. It places responsibility on suppliers of consumer goods to make sure their products are safe for normal and foreseeable use. The directive also requires producers to supply consumers with relevant information that enables them to assess the risks inherent in that product.

The Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) of 1990 required the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop national standards for organically produced agricultural products. This requirement led to the inception of the National Organic Program (NOP). The NOP is a marketing program housed within the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. NOP regulates the standards for any farm, wild crop harvesting, or handling operation that wants to sell an agricultural product as organically produced.

The Food Stamp Program of US is aimed at providing assistance to low and no-income group of people to buy food. The program is actually known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and though it is under the ambit of Federal government (U.S. Department of agriculture), the benefits are distributed by local or state agencies. Eligibility to get Food Stamps:

The basic criteria to be eligible for Food Stamp is that the person must be either a U.S. Citizen, U.S. national or have the status of a qualified alien. Besides, he must be having or must have applied for a Social Security Number. The term ‘qualified alien’ includes the following set of people:

ISO 22000:2005 specifies requirements for a food safety management system. The requirements of an organization entails that the food chain must demonstrate its ability to identify and control food safety hazards so as to ensure safety of food at the time of human consumption.

This standard is applicable organizations of any size (large or small), which are involved in any phase of the food chain and want to establish systems that always provide safe products.