Food Protection Trends - May 2010 - 289

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN FOOD SAFETY
3-A SSI Announces New Information on 3-A Symbol Holders
-A Sanitary Standards, Inc. (3-A SSI) announces new public information on current 3-A Symbol holders to assist regulatory sanitarians, processors, equipment fabricators, and other interested parties. Along with a list of authorized 3-A Symbol licensees for 2010, 3-A SSI posted the first licensee information on a new Probationary List. “The public data on 3-A Symbol licensees is more valuable today than ever for inspection authorities, equipment fabricators and users,” according to 3-A SSI Executive Director Tim Rugh. “Recognition and demand for the 3-A Symbol have grown in step with the need to know that equipment conforms to the appropriate 3-A Sanitary Standards, and the 3-A Symbol conveys this assurance,” he said. New this year, a Probationary List was recently added to disclose information on any licensee that is responsible for a finding of nonconformance, including the company name and the specific type and model of equipment. According to Tim Rugh, “The Probationary List is not intended to penalize the licensee, but to help inform all concerned parties that the licensee is addressing specific issues it has acknowledged require correction.” The licensee remains in this status until a plan for corrective action is completed and verified by third party inspection. The value of the 3-A Symbol in the marketplace was enhanced by the Third Party Verification (TPV) inspection requirement instituted in 2003 as a requirement for 3-A Symbol authorization. The TPV

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requirement moved 3-A Symbol authorization away from an era of self-certification. Between 2003 and the end of 2007, approximately 520 TPV inspections were completed for equipment fabricated in the United States and 22 other countries around the world, according to 3-A SSI. The inspections must be renewed every five years to maintain a 3-A Symbol authorization, whenever equipment non-conformance is found, or if there is a significant change in materials or manufacturing processes. Since 1956, the 3-A Symbol has been used to identify equipment that meets 3-A Sanitary Standards for design and fabrication. Voluntary use of the 3-A Symbol on dairy and food equipment assures processors that equipment meets sanitary standards, provides accepted criteria to equipment manufacturers for sanitary design, and establishes guidelines for uniform evaluation and compliance by sanitarians. The public information on 3-A Symbol licensees is important public information because it shows all equipment that conforms to 3-A Sanitary Standards for dairy and food processing equipment and meets provisions of the 3-A Symbol program. Maintained on the 3-A SSI Web site at http://www.3-a.org/symbol/holders_list.html, the lists include current and discontinued licensees and the new Probationary List. The discontinued symbol holders list shows the reason for discontinuation, such as the equipment is no longer in production, the equipment was consolidated in another 3-A Symbol authorization resulting from a change in company ownership, or the failure of the holder to maintain the authorization in accordance with the terms and conditions for use of the 3-A Symbol.

FDA Calls on Food Companies to Correct Labeling Violations; FDA Commissioner Issues an Open Letter to the Industry
he U.S. Food and Drug Administration has notified 17 food manufacturers that the labeling for 22 of their food products violates the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The action follows an October 2009 statement by Commissioner of Food and Drugs Margaret Hamburg, M.D., encouraging companies to review their labeling to ensure that they were in compliance with FDA regulations, and were truthful and not misleading. In an open letter to the industry dated March 3, 2010, Dr. Hamburg underscored the importance of providing nutrition information that consumers could rely on. “Today, ready access to reliable information about the calorie and nutrient content of food is even more important, given the prevalence of obesity and diet-related diseases in the United States,” Dr. Hamburg said in the letter. She also expressed her hope that the warning letters would clarify the FDA’s expectations for food manufacturers as they review their current labeling. The violations cited in the warning letters include unauthorized health claims, unauthorized nutrient content claims, and the unauthorized use of terms such as “healthy,” and others that have strict, regulatory definitions. Companies that received warning letters have 15 business days to inform the FDA of the steps they will take to correct their labeling. Dr. Hamburg has made nutrition labeling a priority for the FDA. The warning letters are the agency’s most recent action to help improve consumers’ ability to make nutri289

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MAY 2010 | FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS
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Food Protection Trends - May 2010

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