FDA moves to finalize food safety rules

The Food and Drug Administration is getting ready to finalize new rules to protect people and animals from foodborne illnesses. 

The agency sent two rules to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for review on Wednesday, that will force manufactures of food for both animals and people to implement preventive controls to minimize the risk of contaminating food when it’s manufactured, processed, packed or held by a facility. 

{mosads}Manufacturers will be required to maintain a food safety plan, perform a hazard analysis and institute preventive controls to mitigate those hazards. Facilities will also be required to monitor their controls, verify they were effective, take any appropriate corrective actions and maintain records documenting those actions.

Food safety plans must include procedures for food recalls. 

“Time is critical during a recall,” the rulemaking said. “A written recall plan is essential to minimizing the time needed to accomplish a recall; additional time during which the food is on the market can result in additional consumer exposure.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 48 million Americans get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die from food-borne illnesses every year. 

According to FDA’s regulatory agenda, both rules are due out in August.