The Food Safety Modernization Act or FSMA was put in place in 2011 to help ensure that food safety is being held to higher standards and to have preventative measures in keeping food safe. Now, instead of responding once a food contamination incident has occurred, people can take action to prevent it from ever happening in the first place.The new FSMA 204 is aiming to set businesses up for success. Nobody wants to be known as the restaurant that caused food poisoning, so it is important to adhere to these regulations as more information becomes available on how to better safely serve your customers.
FSMA 204
FSMA 204, also known as the Food Traceability Rule has been put in place to help speed up the identification of possibly contaminated food and have it removed quickly before it has any chance of causing illness or death.
The Food Traceability List, or FTL, highlights certain foods that will require more record keeping. These foods are often served in restaurants and have been labeled “high risk.” Some of these foods include, but are not limited to, fresh cut fruits, fresh herbs, ready to eat salads, certain kinds of cheese, seafood and even nut butters.
What This Means For Restaurants
As of January 2023, the FSMA 204 rule is in effect, however there is a three year compliance period that was granted so everyone has until January 20, 2026 to comply. It is important to look at your restaurant and see how this change could affect your business so you can begin to take the necessary steps in order to be in compliance when the time comes. The idea is to have complete traceability all the way from where it begins on the farm until it has made it to the table. This means that the farmers will have certain data to record about the food they are handling and distributors will have to then document other data while they are in possession of the food and so on down the line. The recorded information will be specific for the person recording it and since everyone handling the food plays a different role, they will be responsible for questions pertaining to their specific job. Everyone is responsible for being as thorough as possible, so if something goes wrong along the way, it should be easier to spot, therefore keeping food that could be contaminated from being served or sold.
To read more about this new rule and what specific foods are targeted in the Food Traceability Act, you can visit the FDA website and see the complete list. This has been put in place to help protect the public health so should be taken seriously and businesses should do all they can to comply with these new efforts. By taking the time to learn the ins and outs of FSMA 204, you are holding your business to a higher standard of food safety, which is important to your customers as well as your brand. So while there might be a learning curve to understanding this new rule, it is paramount to ensuring the safety that patrons expect to experience and keeping your business in good standings with not only the FDA, but the customers and staff that are trusting you to make the best decisions for your business.
