Food Protection Trends - July/August 2018 - 305

the complex FSMA regulations have affected their daily
professional lives, and led the discussion.
FSMA: The regulatory evolution of global food safety
Dr. Kristen Spotz, Senior Manager for Food Safety
and Quality Assurance at the Grocery Manufacturer's
Association, which represents more than 250 leading food,
beverage and consumer product companies, presented an
overview of the new regulatory changes associated with
the FSMA and their impact on global food safety. The
speaker described GMA's role as an active partner of FDA
in providing both technical and scientific assistance to
successfully implement FSMA. Because of the complexity
and global scale of today's food chains, the FDA is in
the process of developing new strategies to successfully
implement all facets of FSMA (8). Long-term outcomes
of FSMA are expected to enable the food industry to be
proactive in ensuring food safety at every step of the food
chain from farm to table (8). For FDA's food safety program,
this new approach means the creation of an operational
strategy that advances public health, leverages partner
resources, collaborates with industry and government
organizations, and creates strategic and risk-based industry
oversight (8). Moreover, science-based measures should
be utilized at every appropriate step of food production,
and careful management on the part of the food industry
should be practiced by maintaining documentation of
"appropriate preventive measures as a matter of routine

practice every day" (8). Dr. Spotz also presented a very
helpful list of the most relevant compliance deadlines for
businesses categorized as General, Small Business, and Very
Small Business (Table 1). GMA is "actively involved" with
training and enforcing issues stemming from FSMA, as well
as providing FDA with the technical support and scientific
expertise necessary for adjusting to prevention-oriented
food safety standards (8).
The role of academia in FSMA training
Although academia does not play an active role in FSMA
enforcement, Dr. Fadi Aramouni, a professor and extension
specialist in food science at Kansas State University's Food
Science Institute, highlighted the key role of universities in
FSMA implementation. In his presentation, Dr. Aramouni
postulated that researchers can affect both industry and
consumers through the education of future food scientists
who will assume roles in the food industry of the future. He
explained that providing learning experiences for students
preparing for careers in food science will help to ensure
that the next generation of food safety workers are prepared
to comply with the FSMA regulations. As a professor at
one of the nation's land-grant universities, Dr. Aramouni
believes that coursework at Kansas State prepares students
to understand the principles of HACCP, as well as the
place of hazard prevention practices in HARPC. His course
objectives guide food science students through the steps
of developing HACCP and Preventive Controls (PC) for

TABLE 1. FSMA Compliance Dates (Simplified from GMA, 2016)
Final Rule

General Compliance

Small Business Compliance

Very Small Business
Compliance

Preventive Controls for
Human Food

19 September 2016

18 September 2017

17 September 2018

Preventive Controls
for Animal Feed

19 September 2016 (cGMP*)
18 September 2017 (PC#)

18 September 2017 (cGMP)
17 September 2018 (PC)

17 September 2018 (cGMP)
17 September 2019 (PC)

Produce Safety

26 January 2018

26 January 2019

26 January 2020

Foreign Supplier Verification
Program (FSVP)

30 May 2017

30 May 2017

30 May 2017

Third Party Accreditation and
Certification

N/A

N/A

N/A

Sanitary Transportation

6 April 2017

6 April 2018

N/A

Food Defense

26 July 2019

26 July 2020

26 July 2021

*GMP: Good Manufacturing Practices
# PC: Preventative Controls
N/A: not applicable

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