The California Department of Food and Agriculture will host informational sessions on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Final Rules for Produce Safety and Preventive Controls for Animal Food.
The Produce Safety Rule will be presented on Wednesday, January 13 in Tulare, CA and both the Preventive Controls for Animal Food Rule and the Produce Safety Rule will be presented on Thursday, January 14 in Seaside, CA.
The listening sessions are scheduled as follows: January 13, 2016 – Produce Safety Rule from 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. at the International Agri-Center, 4500 S. Laspina Street, Tulare, CA 93274; and January 14, 2016 – Preventive Controls for Animal Food Rule from 8:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., and Produce Safety Rule from 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 1441 Canyon Del Rey Blvd, Seaside, CA 93955.
FSMA was signed into law by President Obama on January 4, 2011. It aims to ensure that the U.S. food supply is safe by shifting the focus of federal regulators from responding to contamination to preventing it. On September 17, 2015, FDA published the final rule for Preventive Controls for Animal Food, and on November 27, 2015 they published the final rule for Produce Safety.
The purpose of the informational sessions is to provide industry with an overview of the final rules and respond to questions.
Invited speakers include: Jim Houston, Undersecretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture; and Jeff Farrar, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs and Partnerships, Office of Foods and Veterinary Medicine, Food and Drug Administration.
The listening session is sponsored by the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), California Citrus Mutual (CCM), California Farm Bureau Federation (CFBF), California Fresh Fruit Association (CFFA), California Grain & Feed Association (CGFA), and Western Growers Association (WGA).
For more information about the FSMA informational sessions, including agenda and registration, visit:www.cdfa.ca.gov/is/fsma. Due to limited space we ask that you pre-register; there is no cost for registration.