Filipino food producers need to gear up to comply with new food-safety requirements of the United States (US) to avoid being refused entry of their goods into the huge market.
In a seminar, Alberto Cariso Jr., chief of Industry Services Division of the National Food Authority’s Food Development Center, said the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed seven rules to implement Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
Cariso said most significant rules include foreign supplier verification program (FSVP) for importers, accreditation of third-party auditors/certification bodies, preventive controls for human food, and focused mitigation strategies to protect food against intentional adulteration.
Under the proposed regulations for FSVP, Cariso said importers, for the first time, would need to verify that their suppliers comply with US food-safety regulations, and be required to perform risk-based verification activities of those foreign suppliers.
He said, in a statement released by the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc., that FDA inspection of imported food at US ports and inspection of foreign suppliers will continue and FSMA directs increased inspections of foreign food facilities.
In the FSVP provisions, the US Congress acknowledged that importers have an important role to play in ensuring the safety of imported food, he added.
Cariso said the FDA also released for comment its proposal to establish a program for accreditation of third-party auditors to conduct food-safety audits and issue certifications of foreign facilities and the human and animal foods they produce for import to the US.
He said the use of accredited auditors and food and facility certifications is aimed at increasing efficiency by allowing FDA to leverage rigorous, independent audits conducted for supply-chain management purposes.
Meanwhile, Cariso said requirements under the proposed preventive controls include the hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls and updated Good Manufacturing Practices.
He said these requirements are written food defense plan, training, vulnerability assessment and focused mitigation strategies similar to preventive controls.
Citing the US FDA, Cariso said the four most significant rules will be finalized in late 2015.
He added that the obligation for industry to comply is targeted to begin in late 2016.
Cariso said other proposed rules to undertake FSMA include standard for produce safety, preventive controls for food for animals, and sanitary transportation of human and animal food.