Supermarket Perimeter - July 2021 - 63

INSIDER
SPOTLIGHT
Soups
R&D
Artisan breads
FDA STRENGTHENS
FOCUS ON TRACEABILITY
by Emily Park
WHEN THE US FOOD AND
DRUG ADMINISTRATION
released the New Era of Smarter
Food Safety Blueprint a year
ago, it was centered around
four key elements: tech-enabled
traceability, smarter tools and
approaches for prevention and
outbreak response, new business
models and retail modernization,
and food safety culture
The blueprint was designed
to give food industry members
an idea of the direction the
government agency would
approach regulation and
legislation around food safety.
Since the release of the
blueprint, the FDA has started
taking steps to carry out the
10-year plan.
Proposed requirements
In September 2020, the
administration proposed a
new rule for food traceability
record-keeping requirements
beyond what is already required
with existing regulations for
the persons who manufacture,
process, pack or hold foods
the agency has designated
for inclusion on the Food
Traceability List.
The proposed rule,
" Requirements for Additional
Traceability Records for Certain
Foods " (Food Traceability
Proposed Rule), is a key
component of the blueprint
and would implement Section
204(d) of the FDA Food Safety
Modernization Act (FSMA).
If passed, manufacturers
would be required to maintain
records containing key data
elements regarding growing,
receiving, transforming, creating,
and shipping, while also linking
the traceability lot code to the
relevant products. Those required
to maintain records would
need to establish and maintain
traceability program records to
help regulators understand the
entity's traceability program.
Products on the Food
Traceability List would include
cheeses other than hard cheeses,
shell eggs, nut butter, fresh
cucumbers, fresh herbs, fresh
leafy greens, fresh melons,
fresh peppers, fresh sprouts,
fresh tomatoes, fresh tropical
tree fruits, fresh-cut fruits and
vegetables, finfish including
smoked finfish, crustaceans,
mollusks, bivalves and RTE
deli salads.
Making advancements
Most recently, the FDA has
launched a search for low-cost
technology that would aid
food industry members in their
actions to fulfill new traceability
requirements.
" Achieving end-to-end food
supermarketperimeter.com
traceability will involve everyone
in the supply chain - from source
to table, " said Frank Yiannas, the
FDA's deputy commissioner for
food policy and response. " To
achieve that level of participation,
we need accessible tracing
solutions for human and animal
food companies of all sizes. That
means that we must help ensure
that even small companies can
use and benefit from new tracing
technologies. "
The Low- or No-Cost Techenable
Traceability Challenge
runs through July 31 and
encourages food technology
solution providers, public health
advocates, entrepreneurs, and
innovators across the human
and animal food supply chain
to present food traceability
solutions that are affordable,
create shared-value, and,
thus, can scale to encourage
widespread implementation and
adoption of traceability systems.
The challenge invites
submissions that address
solutions for traceability
needs and challenges faced
by produces, importers,
manufactures processors,
distributors, retailers and
foodservice.
JULY 2021 - 63
http://www.supermarketperimeter.com
Supermarket Perimeter - July 2021

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