Food Protection Trends - September/October 2013 - (Page 327)

SPECIAL INTEREST PAPER The Food Safety Modernization Act – A series on What is Essential for a food professional to Know [ Article 5. Surveillance [ CAROLINE SMITH DeWAAL,* SUSAN VAUGHN GROOTERS AND DAVID W. PLUNKETT Center for science in the public interest, 1220 l st. NW, Washington, d.C. 20005, usA ABSTRACT The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is a significant and far reaching update of the laws and subsequent regulations that affect the safety of domestically produced and imported foods regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Through FSMA, the U.S. Congress provides FDA with greater powers and directs it to develop regulations that will focus the food industry on the prevention of foodborne illness. This series of articles describes the legal “basics” for the readers of Food Protection Trends. This fifth article focuses on enhancements to foodborne illness surveillance. Past articles have reviewed FSMA’s provisions on preventive controls, food defense, and produce safety standards. Future articles will examine the provisions of FSMA that govern imported food requirements and lab accreditation. INTRODUCTION The fdA food safety Modernization Act (fsMA) reshapes the approach taken by the food and drug Administration (fdA) in regulating the food supply from one that was largely reactive to one that focuses on prevention. To help build that preventive system, the law places increased emphasis on surveillance activities that will inform every aspect of the new risk-based system fsMA creates. for example, in six sections – produce safety standards (section 105); inspections (section 201); Border inspections (section 201); Traceability (section 204); importer verification (sections 301 and 302); and importer Certification (section 303) – the law mandates that fdA regulate specific foods on the basis of the “known food safety risks” of the food. The produce safety and traceability sections specify that in establishing “known risks,” fdA can consider the history and severity of foodborne illness outbreaks and take into consideration data collected by the Centers for disease Control and prevention (CdC). The law also requires that fdA review and evaluate health data every two years to determine the most significant contaminants in food and to set performance standards for significant contaminants. Thus, surveillance activities of the states and CdC provide essential building blocks for implementing fsMA in order to document known food safety risks in foods and identify the most significant contaminants. surveillance also provides information on emerging hazards in the food supply and feedback on the effectiveness of preventive controls. On the response side, recalls are initiated on the basis of epidemiological data. Rapid detection of an outbreak and prompt identification and removal of the food involved can reduce its public health impact. This is the fifth of seven articles that analyze the text of the relevant fsMA provisions, and review steps taken by fdA to interpret, or in some cases, implement the new law. This article covers: • The statutory definition of foodborne illness outbreak, • information sharing between federal and state surveillance systems, • specific mandates designed to improve surveillance systems, • The working group and development of an expert body to recommend continued improvement to surveillance systems, • state roles and evaluation of capacity and needs, and • fitting surveillance into the broader risk-based, preventive food safety system *Author for correspondence: Phone: +1 202.777.8366; Fax: +1 202.265.4954; E-mail: csmithdewaal@cspinet.org SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2013 FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS 327 http://www.foodprotection.org/files/food-protection-trends/Sep-Oct-13-dewaal.pdf

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Protection Trends - September/October 2013

Food Protection Trends - September/October 2013
Commentary
Norovirus Attachment: Implications for Food Safety
A Successful Approach to Salmonella Surveillance: Using Student Interviewers to Improve Foodborne Disease Outbreak Response in New York City
Use of Surface Water in the Production of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables: A Survey of Fresh Produce Growers and Their Water Management Practices
Im Gloving It!
FSMA: Article 5
General Interest Paper
PDG Highlight
Beyond the Bio
Industry Products
Coming Events

Food Protection Trends - September/October 2013