- Today, the FDA published guidance outlining key areas where it intends to exercise enforcement discretion in four of the rules that implement aspects of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). 83 FR 598. In short, this guidance document outlines the Agency’s intent to not enforce certain FSMA requirements as they currently apply to certain entities and/or activities. This enforcement discretion specifically relates to certain provisions in the Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food rule (PC Human Food), Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Food for Animals rule (PC Animal Food), Foreign Supplier Verification Programs rule (FSVP), and Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption rule (Produce Safety) and how they apply to:
- facilities that would be farms except for certain factors and activities
- written assurances provisions in all four rules related to the customer’s control of identified hazards that are a potential risk to public health
- the animal food preventive controls requirements for certain manufacturing/processing activities performed on human food by-products used as animal food, and
- FSVP requirements for importers of food contact substances.
- As our readership is well aware, FDA had previously extended the compliance dates for many of the provisions covered by this guidance (see August 2016 compliance date extension). The enforcement discretion policies enumerated in the guidance will remain in place until and unless FDA decides to take further action on any of these issues.
- Our detailed summary of the enforcement discretion policies and their potential impact on industry will be posted to our Firm’s website shortly. In the meantime, please feel free to contact us with any questions at fooddrug@khlaw.com.
