Compliance with F.S.M.A. involves two kinds of deadlines. One involves company size, the other starts the clock ticking.
F.S.M.A. timetables start now
Compliance with F.S.M.A. involves two kinds of deadlines. One involves company size, the other starts the clock ticking.
Very small businesses, those averaging less than $1 million in annual sales, have three years to comply; however, the records qualifying these companies as very small should have been in place by Jan. 1, 2016. Small businesses, those with fewer than 500 full-time employees, have two years. All others have one year.
Those one-, two- and three-year periods start on the day that the F.D.A. issues a F.S.M.A. rule in final form by publishing it in the Federal Register. The regulations consist of seven rules with varying publication dates. Those already out are:
Preventive Controls for Human Food — final rule published Sept. 17, 2015.
Preventive Controls for Foods for Animals — Sept. 17, 2015.
Standards for Produce Safety — Nov. 27, 2015.
Foreign Supplier Verification Program for Importers of Foods for Humans and Animals — Nov. 27, 2015.
Accredited Third-Party Certification — Nov. 27, 2015.
FDA expects publication dates for the other two rules as follows:
Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food — by March 31, 2016.
Focused Mitigation Strategies to Protect Food Against Intentional Adulteration — by May 31, 2016.
