FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act)

What It Means

The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), signed into law by President Obama on January 4, 2011, is the most sweeping reform of U.S. food safety laws in more than 70 years. FSMA fundamentally shifted the FDA's approach to food safety from responding to contamination after it occurs to preventing it in the first place. The law established a series of rules and requirements that apply to food facilities, farms, and importers. Key provisions include the Preventive Controls for Human Food rule, which requires food facilities to implement written food safety plans with hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls; the Produce Safety rule, which establishes science-based standards for growing, harvesting, packing, and holding produce on farms; the Foreign Supplier Verification Program, which requires importers to verify that food imported into the U.S. meets domestic safety standards; and the Intentional Adulteration rule, which requires facilities to address vulnerabilities to intentional contamination. FSMA also gave the FDA new enforcement tools, including mandatory recall authority for the first time in the agency's history, enhanced inspection authority, and the ability to suspend a facility's food registration. The implementation of FSMA has been phased in over several years, with different compliance dates for businesses of different sizes.