On December 7th, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) held an informational webinar on the recently released Food Traceability final rule issued under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The final rule is designed to facilitate faster identification and rapid removal of potentially contaminated food from the market, resulting in fewer foodborne illnesses and/or deaths.
During the webinar, the FDA provided an overview of the final rule, including the foods and entities covered by the rule, explained the exemptions from the rule, and discussed the recordkeeping requirements of the rule.
Foods subject to the final rule requirements appear on the Food Traceability List (FTL), and include fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, shell eggs, nut butters, as well as certain fresh fruits, certain fresh vegetables, ready-to-eat deli salads, soft cheeses, and certain seafood products.
Persons who manufacture, process, pack, or hold foods on the FTL must maintain records including Key Data Elements (KDEs) related to Critical Tracking Events (CTEs) in the supply chain for the food (link). Covered entities – including farms, manufacturers, distributors, retail food establishments, and restaurants – will be required to provide this traceability information to the FDA within 24 hours of an official request, or within some reasonable time to which the FDA agrees.
An archived recording of the webinar will be posted to the FDA website.
