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The draft guidance provides updated information pertaining to FDA's authority to access and copy records relating to food.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
Milk-based beverages for active kids and ready-to-drink lattes with collagen are among the nine finalists announced in the California Milk Advisory Board’s (CMAB) Real California Milk Accelerator dairy startup competition designed to inspire ideas integrating the values of fluid milk into contemporary products and provide resources to help bring them to market.
The North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute) has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 12: The Farm Animal Confinement Initiative.
People who increase their consumption of sugary beverages—whether they contain added or naturally occurring sugar—may face moderately higher risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a new study published in Diabetes Care.
Synergy Flavors has recently completed an expansion project at its U.S. headquarters and innovation center in Wauconda, Ill.
Unilever, owner of brands including Dove, Ben & Jerry’s, and Lipton, has announced ambitious new commitments to reduce its plastic waste and help create a circular economy for plastics.
According to IFT member Charles Diako, PhD, IFT is like a good meal. Just as a meal is made of a diverse array of ingredients, IFT and the science of food brings together people from different backgrounds, abilities, cultures, perspectives, and skill sets to address current and future challenges to food safety and security.
As the calendar turned from September to October, our annual observance of National Food Safety Education Month came to an end. Throughout the month, IFT and many other trusted organizations shared tips, resources, and pertinent information to remind people of the simple things they can do to prevent foodborne illness outbreaks.
As a food consumer, there are many methods to reduce the risk of foodborne illness.
Labor Day weekend generally marks the unofficial end of summer in the United States, but it doesn’t have to mean the end of summer fun.
Animals born to mothers fed a high-fat diet during gestation were protected against brain changes characteristic of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published by researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.
Formed during the food manufacturing process, Maillard reaction products (MRPs) in processed food can have harmful health effects. A study published in Cell Host & Microbe shows that human gut microbes can break down fructoselysine, a common MRP, into innocuous byproducts.
Research indicates that smoking marijuana may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. A recent study has determined that a compound in soybeans may mitigate that risk.
Five new strawberry varieties boasting properties that will help growers control costs, better manage diseases, and use less water, fertilizer, and pesticides have been developed through the Public Strawberry Breeding Program at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis).
