Comments are in for proposed Produce Safety Rule and Preventive Controls, but final rules have not been issued, leaving processors time to explore audit and certification alternatives.
If you’re going through the motions of obtaining a GFSI certification (e.g., SQF, BRC, FSSC 22000), you may be in pretty good shape if FDA were to run an FSMA audit at your facility. Or, if you’re a farm-based producer following good agricultural practices, you may be set for an FDA visit. But whether you’re ready for FSMA may depend on the final rules developed from the input received during comment periods.
For example, foreign suppliers—especially importers—that have, by their own volition, had little to do with food safety in the past may find themselves ill-prepared to comply with FSMA, which means they will have to meet the same regulations as American processors. Producers of animal feed will have to operate at a higher standard as well.