The wait for final FSMA Rules is over. On September 10, 2015 the FDA published the final rules for the Preventive Controls for Human and Animal Foods. Being able to design, implement and validate preventive process controls is probably the most critical aspect of all food safety programs. Those capable of process validation will be able to maintain food safety while those who do not understand or cannot manage process validation will be exposed to FDA enforcement. Large businesses have less than one year to fully implement the rules.
Validation is where the food safety rubber meets the road.
According to the FDA all food facilities must “monitor their controls, conduct verification activities to ensure the controls are effective, take appropriate corrective actions, and maintain records documenting these actions. This training session will present a practical approach to provide you and your team members with needed understanding and a basic strategy for designing, implementing and validating process controls.
The FDA FSMA rules are based on the ideas that risk can be reduced through preventive approaches not widely understood or followed in the food industry. Regardless of your ability to understand or validate processes, process validation is now a legal requirement.
The clock has now started for the required implementation of all members of food supply chains for food to be consumed in the United States. The long wait for finalization and clarification of rule requirements is over. Implementation deadlines are published and most large companies have one year to fully implement and comply with these seemingly complicated requirements