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The draft guidance provides updated information pertaining to FDA's authority to access and copy records relating to food.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
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.
The latest research from Mintel shows that after several years of growth, the foodservice industry is expected to decline by up to 30% from 2019 to 2020, following nationwide dine-in bans/restrictions, restaurant closures, job losses, and lowered consumer confidence.
The FDA is announcing $1.5 million of continued funding, in the form of cooperative agreements, to the University of Arkansas Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative and the National Farmers Union to enhance food safety under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
According to Innova Market Insights’ COVID-19 Consumer Survey (conducted in March 2020), in China, India, and Indonesia, personal concerns center on health, personal income, and the availability of healthcare and products to buy.
Scientists from the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have identified a new way to detect the presence of live African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) that minimizes the need for samples from live animals and provides easier access to veterinary labs that need to diagnose the virus.
Experts predict the next 10 years will be the most dramatic transformation the food industry has experienced in the last three decades. Learn how experts are using next-generation technologies like AI and blockchain to revolutionize global food safety in our infographic.
During SHIFT20, renowned pastry chef Gale Gand led attendees through a virtual baking lesson in which they made Lydia’s Austrian Stuffed Shortbread. There wasn't enough time during the event to answer them all, so Food Technology’s Senior Digital Editor Kelly Hensel followed up with the chef to get the answers to your burning questions.
The onslaught of COVID-19 has heightened consumers’ concerns about food safety and made this September’s celebration of National Food Safety Education Month even more timely and relevant. The following information and resources will help you increase your understanding of food safety and share the basic principles with those around you.
In the food industry, botulinum toxin is associated with a severe form of food poisoning caused by improperly preserved food. Researchers have developed a technology that addresses the role of botulinum toxin in both food and cosmetic applications.
Before the emergence of COVID-19 and stay-at-home orders, one of the biggest complaints of busy individuals was not having time to prepare and cook balanced meals. A new appliance shows promise in solving that problem—for those who can afford it.
Researchers from Towson University developed a method for determining where a particular chocolate was produced using its chemical “fingerprint,” with the hopes that it could one day be used to trace the chocolate back to the farm that grew the beans.
For as long as humans have been growing food crops, pests and pathogens have been attacking them. For one fungal pathogen, scientists in the United Kingdom have figured out a way to use its own biology to prevent it from destroying crops.
