Food Safety, Traceability, And Accountability: Where Are We Now?

By Laurel Maloy, contributing writer, Food Online

The Sanitary Food Safety Act was introduced in 1990.  In 2005, changes to the legislation shifted responsibility from the Department of Transportation to the FDA. Now, FSMA is adding to the 2005 legislation

Looking back over the last 25 or so years of food safety, we realize three things. First, we have come a long way since 1990. The next realization might be, “It sure did take a long time to get to this point.” And finally, now that the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is soon to be implemented, there is still work to be done in food safety.

The FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) and the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) in early 2010. The ANPRM was the first step to writing federal regulations governing the sanitary practices of those involved in transporting food products for human and animal consumption. The ANPRM published in 2010 served as the predecessor for The Sanitary Food Safety Act of 2005 (2005 SFTA).

This long, and what seems to be exhausting process, started when Congress voiced concern over transporting potentially harmful waste and non-food items in the same vehicles used to transport food products. President H.W. Bush signed into law the SFTA of 1990, requiring the Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish regulations regarding the safe transport of food products.

The 2005 SFTA was signed into law by President G.W. Bush after the failure of the 1990 SFTA. The DOT, rather than issuing their own regulations, cited the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and FDA guidance documents. The DOT concludes that the “expertise for ensuring the safety of our nation’s food supply, including transportation, lies with USDA and FDA.”  The 2005 SFTA reallocates the responsibility — it requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to issue regulations “setting forth sanitary transportation practices to be followed by shippers… and others engaged in food transport.” It also directs the DOT, USDA and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assist FDA in carrying out the provisions, as applicable.”

Enter FSMA in 2011. Under the guidance of President Obama, a series of rules have been drafted, submitted for public comment, and well on their way to being finalized. This effort from the FDA is a much different approach to food safety than the previously mentioned legislatures. In FSMA, food producers and manufacturers will be responsible for creating proactive plans that prevent the spread of contamination within the supply chain rather than reactively containing it. While the FSMA is a big improvement from previously drafted food safety laws, many, including Michael Taylor, Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine, believe FSMA may be too ambitious and the FDA may not have the necessary resources to implement the new system.

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