FSMA Overview
For the first time, FDA has a legislative mandate to require comprehensive, prevention-based controls across the food supply. FSMA enables FDA to focus more on preventing food safety problems rather than relying primarily on reacting to problems after they occur. The law also provides FDA with new enforcement authorities designed to achieve higher rates of compliance with prevention- and risk-based food safety standards and to better respond to and contain problems when they do occur. The law also gives FDA important new tools to hold imported foods to the same standards as domestic foods and directs FDA to build an integrated national food safety system in partnership with state and local authorities.
FSMA Resources
Use these FSMA resources to learn more about the rules and for guidance. For more information about the food safety rules, contact Bryan Hitchcock, Senior Director Food Chain & Executive Director of the Global Food Traceability Center.
Disclaimer: The materials on this website are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. IFT does not advise on the application of law to an individual’s or company’s specific circumstances.
FDA Records Access Authority Under Sections 414 and 704 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
Final Status: April 4, 2014
The draft guidance provides updated information pertaining to FDA's authority to access and copy records relating to food. It is a revision of FDA's November 2005 guidance entitled “Guidance for Industry and FDA Staff: Guidance for Records Access Authority Provided in Title III, Subtitle A, of the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002; Final Guidance.”
Questions and Answers Regarding Food Facility Registration (Sixth Edition)
Final Status: November 19, 2014
The guidance provides updated information pertaining to registration of human and animal food facilities under the FD&C Act, as amended by FSMA on January 4, 2011.
Questions and Answers Regarding Establishment and Maintenance of Records by Persons who Manufacture, Process, Pack, Transport, Distribute, Receive, Hold, or Import Food (Edition 5)
Final Status: February 23, 2012
The guidance provides updated information pertaining to the establishment and maintenance of records by persons who manufacture, process, pack, transport, distribute, receive, hold, or import food in the United States under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), as amended by FSMA of January 4, 2011.
What You Need To Know About Administrative Detention of Foods; Small Entity Compliance Guide
Final Status: October 25, 2011
The guidance restates the legal requirements in section 304(h) of the FD&C Act 21 U.S.C. 334(h), as amended by section 207 of FSMA.
Full Text of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)
The full text of 111 Congress Public Law 353, Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), as provided by the FDA.
FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Main Page
FDA published information about FSMA. Includes up-to-date announcements and implementation activity.
Background on the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)
FDA background document on purpose and history of the FSMA. Available in multi-language translation and PDF.
Operational Strategy for Implementing the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)
This strategy document is intended to guide the next phase of FSMA implementation by outlining broadly the drivers of change in FDA’s approach to food safety and the operational strategy for implementing that change, as mandated and empowered by FSMA.
FSMA Training
Training and outreach programs to assist companies in complying with the FSMA rules.
Frequently Asked Questions on Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)
This page addresses questions related to FSMA.
IFT offers several webcasts on the final and proposed FSMA rules. Free to IFT Premiere Members, login required. Network & Engagement member discount and non-member pricing also available.
FSMA Final Rule for Produce Safety: Significant Provisions of the Rule
FSMA Final Rule for Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP)
FSMA Requirements: Validation of the Kill Step in Bakery Products – AIB Supplier Solutions Webcast
FSMA Final Rule for Preventative Controls for human Food Webcast
To understand where the future of work in the science of food is headed, it’s necessary to first look at how the industry has changed, explained the panelists at an IFT Careers InFocus virtual event session titled “The Future of Work.”
Speaking at IFT’s recent Careers InFocus virtual event and career fair, Andrew Yang, the founder of Venture for America and former U.S. presidential candidate, shared his perspective on the massive changes that are affecting the way we work.
Employment inequities related to gender and race are real, and correcting them must be a priority, but it isn’t going to happen overnight, said panelists at an IFT Careers InFocus virtual event session.
The National Honey Board (NHB) is currently accepting pre-proposals for honey food-pairings to help Americans consume a Mediterranean diet pattern. Interested researchers need to submit a short pre-proposal by November 13, 2020.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing changes to its export listing procedures for dairy and infant formula firms seeking to export their products to China.
As young people narrow down their options for 'what comes next' after high school, many find Historically Black Colleges and Universities are the right fit for the next stage in their educational career.
Nurturing relationships with your current network and creating new connections can be just as effective from your own home or office, but it takes discipline and effort. Here's 4 tips for building and cultivating your network at virtual events, and ways to put those tips to work for you at FIRST.
Spreading the word about the groundbreaking work being done to enhance the sustainability, nutrition, safety, and accessibility of the global food supply is the responsibility of all members of the science of food profession. IFT member Richard D. Ludescher shares one way he has found to "influence the influencers" and encourages others to do the same.
France-based Carbios is developing the first biological technology to transform the end-of-life of plastics, says Martin Stephan, deputy CEO of Carbios.
The dangers of a high-sodium diet have been well documented, but a new technology devised by scientists from Washington State University could help reduce sodium in processed foods while retaining taste and texture.
A study found that people who drank beverages that contained the low-calorie sweetener sucralose did experience metabolic problems and issues with neural responses but only when the beverage was formulated with both sucralose and a tasteless sugar (maltodextrin).
British scientists have gained new insights into the compound in plants that plays a vital role in the natural process through which plants grow.
