Regulatory compliance, while often a source of frustration, is a necessary part of daily life in the food industry. FDA and USDA guidelines, policies and inspections are devised to ensure the safety of our nation's food supply. Recent large scale recalls have planted doubt in the minds of consumers as well as launched criticism of federal regulatory agencies. Within the food industry, however, opinions vary on the efficacy of government agencies. In fact, in a recent survey of Food Manufacturing readers, 50 percent of respondents felt the FDA did everything it could have done, given its resources, during the recent peanut butter recall, while the other 50 percent of respondents felt the FDA could have done more in this situation.
The FDA's Food Protection Plan (November 2007) focuses on a three-pronged initiative for increased food safety: prevention (promoting increased corporate responsibility so that food problems do not occur in the first place), intervention (risk-based inspections, sampling and surveillance at high risk points) and response (communicate clearly with consumers and other stakeholders during and after emergencies). According to survey results, 60 percent of respondents felt that the FDA's biggest weakness lies in its prevention efforts. Just over 30 percent were concerned about the FDA's intervention practices, while only 9 percent felt that the FDA's emergency response was its largest weakness.
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The FDA/USDA's lack of man power was cited by 47 percent as the largest hindering factor in the performance of the two agencies, followed by a lack of funding, as cited by 27 percent. Several suggestions have been proposed in order to improve the FDA/USDA's oversight of the food industry. A common theme was the call for a more global reach, including the most popular suggestion, which was the desire for U.S. agencies to share information among federal agencies worldwide (66 percent). Other suggestions included:
- Requiring FDA inspections in foreign plants that export to the U.S. (56 percent).
- Giving the FDA enhanced access to food records during emergencies (55 percent).
- Increasing FDA/USDA presence in U.S. food plants (55 percent).
- Implementing a mandatory recall system (53 percent).
- Placing U.S. safety inspectors around the world to ensure the safety of imports (47 percent).
Food plants square off against numerous obstacles when it comes to regulatory compliance. According to 37 percent of respondents, the biggest obstacle plants face is interpretation of rulings and policies of the FDA, USDA, EPA and other agencies as they relate to products or practices. In addition, 23 percent cite costs associated with compliance as the biggest obstacle, while 15 percent indicate the challenge of keeping up-to-date on new regulations.
When it comes to specific compliance issues, however, 39 percent of respondents reported that labeling is the most challenging. This was followed by compliance in terms of sanitation (31 percent), new ingredients (24 percent) and HACCP (22 percent).
Plant managers, knowing that they cannot rely on regulatory agencies alone, understand their plant's vital role in food safety. While it is important to mention that many survey respondents pointed out that plants should always be audit-ready, they also indicated several key action steps that can be used to ensure that plants are ready for FDA/USDA inspections:
- Utilize an onsite team to handle inspections (73 percent).
- Review past audits to make sure problems were corrected (71 percent).
- Consult written SOPs for audits (58 percent).
- Hire an outside auditor (41 percent).
- Train all employees on how to handle FDA inspectors (38 percent).
Despite recent recall woes and varying opinions on government regulations, the industry's future outlook is somewhat positive, as 40 percent of respondents feel the Obama administration will improve regulatory operations in the food industry. In addition, 98 percent of surveyed food manufacturers - arguably those getting the closest look at the safety of the food supply, as well as being consumers with families of their own to feed - still ascertain that the U.S. has one of the safest food supplies in the world.
Food Manufacturing, Advantage Business Media,
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