PMA submits comments on final FSMA proposals

PMA submitted comments on behalf of its membership to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday on the four supplemental proposals under the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) on produce safety, preventive controls for human food, foreign supplier verification programs and preventive controls for animal feed.

“Our main priority is to assure that when these regulations are finalized and implemented they will best serve public health and our industry’s food safety needs,” says PMA’s Dr. Jim Gorny, vice president of food safety and technology. “These proposed FSMA rules will have profound business implications on every aspect of the global produce supply chain – they have to be right.”

Gorny added that once the FDA reviews all the comments submitted, they’ll revise their proposal and issue a final rule which will include an exact timeline for implementation. He said, “Now, PMA’s staff team with the help of our member volunteers will turn its focus on implementation of these rules and what that means for the industry. You can expect more information and guidance from PMA in the months to follow.”

Until then, industry members can visit PMA’s FSMA Resource Center on pma.com for the comments in their entirety, along with additional details on each of the proposed rules.

For more information, visit www.pma.com.