Last week, July 31, 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the publication of three draft guidance documents designed to help those involved in the market supply chain of these crops from farm to market eliminate microbial contaminations.The FDA news release on the guidances reports that they are based, in some part, on guidelines developed by the industry with the help of the FDA. The FDA and the Obama Administration are taking a prevention-first approach to eliminating the spread of food borne pathogens. As the FDA news release states, the commodity-specific guidances were among the various food safety suggestions developed by the President’s Food Safety Working Group.
Comments on the guidance documents must be submitted within a 90 day time period that starts once the guidances are published in the Federal Register. To read the FDA news release on the guidances, which contains the general food safety elements and principles of emphasis that should be a part of the guidances, click here.
Posted: 08/06/09
