FDA Food Safety Modernization Act: A New Paradigm for Importers; Public Meeting

 

Overview of the Public Meeting on Import Safety Provisions

The FDA Foods Program sponsored its first public meeting with stakeholders to discuss the implementation of the import safety provisions of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) on Tuesday, March 29, 2011, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the FDA White Oak Campus, The Great Room, Building 31, Room 1503, 10903 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20993. This public meeting, entitled “FDA Food Safety Modernization Act: Title III – A New Paradigm for Importers,” provided stakeholders with an opportunity to learn more about different perspectives on the import safety provisions via stakeholder panels; express their views in open public comment sessions; and engage in small-group discussions on each of the four FSMA import safety provisions: Accredited Third-Party Certification; Import Certifications of Food; Voluntary Qualified Importer Program; and Foreign Supplier Verification Program. A special session “FDA Presentation on FSMA” enabled stakeholders to gain a basic understanding of the new law and have an exchange with Michael Taylor, Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Dr. Murray Lumpkin, Deputy Commissioner for International Programs. There were 163 stakeholders participating on site, along with 353 stakeholders who connected to the Webcast.

Meeting Agenda (PDF 28 KB)

Meeting Transcript (PDF 284 KB)

Archived Webcasts of the Meeting

• Morning plenary: https://collaboration.fda.gov/p15699651/
• Breakout on Voluntary Qualified Importer Program (VQIP) and Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP): https://collaboration.fda.gov/p54594541/
• Breakout on Third Party Accreditation: https://collaboration.fda.gov/p92718353/
• Afternoon: https://collaboration.fda.gov/p18719953/

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Comment Period Open Until April 29, 2011

Listening to our stakeholders is the primary purpose of this meeting. Stakeholders can submit electronic or written comments by April 29, 2011.

• Electronic comments: http://www.regulations.gov
• Written comments: Division of Dockets Management, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061, Rockville, MD 20852

Because multiple docket numbers are associated with this document, please include with your comments the docket number(s) that corresponds with the section of FSMA on which you are commenting. Comments that address more than one docket must be filed with each docket to ensure consideration. Refer to the table below for sections of FSMA and corresponding docket number.

Docket Numbers for FSMA Sections

FSMA Section No.	Section Name	Docket No.
301	Foreign supplier verification program	FDA-2011-N-0143
302	Voluntary qualified importer program	FDA-2011-N-0144
303	Authority to require import certifications for food	FDA-2011-N-0145
307	Accreditation of third-party auditors	FDA-2011-N-0146