Food Safety Modernization Act Archives

Most of the food-borne illness threats that we look at usually come from inadvertent contamination due to either a lack of training, negligence or an infected food source, but the threat of intentional contamination exists and steps should be taken to prevent this kind of scenario.

Food Terrorism and ServSafe Manager Certification

Few ServSafe manager certification courses cover the prevention of intentional food tampering, but according to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), certain food production facilities must take steps to prevent hazards from being intentionally introduced into the food production process that could cause wide-spread effects.

In a recent interview, advisors from the FDA’s Food Defense and Emergency Coordination staff provided some insight into the rule and how to keep food safe.

One key component of this rule is the identification and protection of areas of vulnerability. The article discusses open storage containers and mixing vats as potential targets for someone trying to tamper with your food. Other vulnerable sites in food production facilities could include outdoor gardens, unattended receiving areas or unsupervised areas of the kitchen after hours.

ServSafe Manager Certification and Protection from Food Tampering — Image credit: ANDRII POPRAVKA,123

Food defense has long been voluntary, and many facilities do have safety standards in place to prevent malicious tampering with their product. The food defense requirement of the FSMA for large businesses takes effect July 26, 2019 and July 26, 2020 for small businesses with under 500 employees. Very small businesses may be exempt from these rules, but they must provide documentation that they are exempt by July of 2021.

Thankfully, the chances of an intentional food-poisoning outbreak are miniscule whether on a mass scale or at a smaller level. Do you do anything to prevent tampering with the product you prepare and serve at your facility?

The Food Safety Modernization Act and Food Manager Certification MN — Image credit: commons.wikimedia.org

Over the past few years of providing MN food manager certification training courses, we’ve received numerous questions about how the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) affects certain local businesses. While the rules tend to be a bit murky and may require some sifting through legal jargon, we’ve decided to take a closer look at who is affected by the FSMA.

Food Manager Certification MN and the Food Safety Modernization Act

In 2010 the US Congress enacted the FSMA to help prevent major food poisoning outbreaks from occurring. The act targets major produce growers, food processors and pet-food manufacturers. It is our understanding that most retail businesses such as restaurants, grocery stores or other outlets that do not process or supply large quantities of product to consumers are not subject to these regulations.

The FSMA’s major concern is with the food supply in our country rather than with the retail sale of prepared goods. The target businesses of the FSMA include major produce growers who average over 25,000 dollars in sales per year, large processing plants of food for human and pet consumption and the importers of raw foods. To put it simply, most of the food service professionals who come to us for training need not worry about the FSMA. If you’re a supervisor at a restaurant, owner of retail store or manager at the cafeteria at an assisted living facility, the FSMA regulations have little to no effect on your operation.

If you’re a farmer, producer of large quantities of food product or a supplier of raw food product to restaurants or processing facilities, then the rules become a little more complex. In the act, congress decided to exempt certain types of small-scale farms and raw food suppliers. Your farm or operation may be exempt if you:

Sell less than 25,000 dollars’ worth of product per year
Specialize in produce that is rarely served raw
Only produce goods for personal or farm consumption
Only grow food grains

If you are a farmer or produce grower, we suggest you browse Oregon State University’s detailed synopsis on how the FSMA applies to the farming industry.

If you produce large quantities of raw food for human or pet consumption, we strongly urge you to contact your local health department or the FDA to confirm if your business needs to be compliant with FSMA regulations. There are too many qualifying factors and exemptions for us to make a qualified analysis as to which businesses must follow FSMA regulations.

With legislation like the FSMA granting the FDA more authority over our food supply, we’d like to know how you feel about government’s role in overseeing food production. Do you think that we need more or less regulation at the local, state or federal levels?