With each passing day, the world that existed before FDA’s Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA) slowly fades away. But if a recent survey is any indicator, food and beverage companies aren’t sweating it. In fact, 61 percent of these professionals say they are confident their organizations are prepared to meet the increasingly strict requirements of FSMA.

In the new report—conducted by Sparta Systems, Inc.—43 percent of food and beverage professionals surveyed agree the regulation will ultimately increase visibility and safety throughout the supply chain.

Researchers say respondents from large or enterprise-level organizations are particularly certain of their organizations’ readiness for FSMA’s Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP), which requires importers to perform risk-based tests to verify foreign-manufactured food or food ingredients are as safe as those produced in the US.

Despite the industry’s optimistic outlook, the survey also revealed a lack of automated systems for managing compliance across the supply chain: 38 percent say their organizations manually track, manage and report food quality and safety, while 56 percent of respondents classify their processes as partially automated. Only 7 percent report fully automated systems.

“After FSMA was enacted and raised the industry standard for food safety, F&B companies saw a 41 percent increase in FDA warning letters,” says Brandon Henning, director of industry solutions at Sparta Systems. “FSMA regulations will get tougher and more complex, which could prove particularly challenging for those managing compliance through manual or hybrid systems. It is critical for organizations to adopt sustainable methods now, such as EQMS solutions, which will ensure visibility into the food quality and safety processes of all suppliers and contract manufacturers.”

The full report can be accessed here.