inStorebuyer - March 2012 - (Page 36)

foodsafety EXPERT ADVICE ON HANDLING FOOD Prepare for New Rules New government regulations target improving the safety of the nation’s food supply, including the ability to improve trace-back mechanisms that will enable supermarkets to better deal with identifying the source of foodborne illness outbreaks, if and when they occur. Takeout food packaging is one of many categories the regulations will examine. The proliferation of prepared foods offerings in the supermarket deli has increased the scope of necessary preventive controls, as food retailers must pay close attention to the safety and integrity of packaging. Of particular concern to food retailers, one of the key provisions of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) involves hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls. According to the new rules, the owner, operator or agent in charge of a facility shall evaluate the hazards that could affect food manufactured, processed, packed or held by such facility; identify and implement preventive controls to significantly minimize or prevent the occurrence of such hazards and provide assurances that such food is not adulterated or misbranded; monitor the performance of those controls; and maintain records of this monitoring as a matter of routine practice. In the first year since the FDA’s FSMA was signed into law, the FDA reports that significant progress was made to lay the foundation for a food safety system that is grounded in prevention from farm to table. The FSMA, the most sweeping reform of food safety laws in more than 70 years, aims to ensure the US food supply is safe by shifting the focus from responding to contamination to preventing it. Two new pilot projects aim to enhance the FDA’s and industry’s ability to trace products responsible for foodborne illness outbreaks. The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), a nonprofit scientific society consisting of professionals engaged in food science, food technology and related professions, will carry out the pilots at the direction of FDA, under an existing FDA contract. The FSMA requires the FDA to establish at least two pilot projects: one involving produce and one involving processed foods. Signed into law in January, the act also directs the FDA to establish record-keeping requirements for high-risk foods to help in tracing products. “We can prevent illnesses and reduce the economic impact to the food industry if we can more quickly determine what foods may be causing an outbreak and what foods can be eliminated from consideration,” says Michael R. Taylor, FDA deputy commissioner for foods. The pilots will evaluate methods and technologies for rapid and effective tracing of foods, including types of data that are useful for tracing, ways to connect the various points in the supply chain and how quickly the data are made available to the FDA. Key groups, including industry, government and consumers, will have input. JOHN UNREIN | 36 | inStorebuyer | March 2012 |

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of inStorebuyer - March 2012

inStorebuyer - March 2012
Editor's Note - Perking Up Profits
Table of Contents
Frontline News - Clabber Girl is DDA Vendor of Year
Frontline News - IDDBA Scholarship Deadline June 1
Frontline News - A Super Sculpture
Frontline News - Standard Market to Open in Chicago
Frontline News - Caravan Names Product Category Manager
Foodservice Retail - Pizza Done Right
Baking&Decorating - Cake Designs & License Agreements
Baking&Decorating - University Trademark Licensing
Bakery Development - Cakes Continue Sales Growth
Deli Development - Sandwiches Increase Deli Sales
Overcoming the Daily Grind
Kings Better Than Ever
Food Safety - Prepare for New Rules
Health&Nutrition - Reaching Out to Runners
Cheese Corner - Strategic Sampling
Product Trends
Product Showcase
Marketplace Network
Ad Index

inStorebuyer - March 2012