The FSMA was signed into law in January 2011 in order to increase the FDA’s role in monitoring and policing food companies. The gist of the law is to protect the public from real and potential health scares, and it certainly impacts food logistics and food warehouses.
The law is broken down into four areas of improving food safety.
1) Prevention
2) Inspection and Compliance
3) Response
4) Imports
The improvements encompass enhanced product tracking, record keeping, third party import certification, testing and international contamination prevention.
How does your food warehouse conform to these new requirements?
In the event of a recall, the entire food supply chain needs to maintain 360 degrees of visibility and quality assurance monitored from one end of the chain to the other. Therefore, adopting a ‘prevention’ rather than ‘reaction’ mentality is the way to go.
Here are a few suggestions to keep your food warehouse in compliance:
For information on choosing the right food warehousing partner, read our white paper: Choosing a 3PL for Food Distribution.
An examination of your food supply chain
Examining your entire food supply chain may seem an arduous task. On the other hand, dealing with the initial and snowballing effects of a food product recall can be even more difficult and would likely costs millions of dollars.
Past reputation is not good enough. Your outsourced food warehouse providers must comply with these new rules as part of your supply chain. Even your long-standing suppliers must be looked at to ensure that your compliance is line with the FSMA directive. If flaws are discovered it is wise to consider alternate warehouse and transportation providers to reduce your risk.
Weber Logistics operates 16 food warehouses in California, Arizona and Nevada. Our 40 years of experience in food logistics makes us a natural choice for food, alcohol and confectionery industries. As members of various food and logistics associations we adhere to the policies and procedures as set out. Contact us to learn more about our expertise in food warehousing and distribution at 855-GOWEBER (469-3237).
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