Preventative Controls – Focus of FDA

It looks like 2012 will be a busy year for Food Safety Modernization Act developments. According to the FDA, the agency is “expected to issue proposed rules during early 2012, that would require facilities that make or handle food for people and animals to put measures in place to help prevent foodborne illness.” These rules will pertain to all levels of the food industry, in businesses both large and small. Keeping this in mind, the FDA announced a partnership with the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Institute for Food Safety and Health (IIT IFSH) to “help food companies access food safety information and materials to comply with pending FDA rulemaking.”

A recent press release from ITT IFSH states, “The new Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance (FSPCA) is a one-year, $1 million partnership grant funded by the FDA Office of Foods through the IIT-IFSH-FDA collaborative agreement. Funding has been allocated to the development of a standardized industry- oriented training curriculum, including hands-on and web-based training modules.” The resource is specifically aimed at smaller operations that may desire some assistance as the new proposed rules are implemented. The establishment of a preventative controls alliance was one of many discussed concerns recently in “The Federal Food Safety Working Group Progress Report released in December 2011.   You can check out the full report here.