FSMA
The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is a comprehensive modification of the US food safety regulatory framework. The Produce Safety Rule (PSR) of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) establishes science-based minimum standards for the safe growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of fruits and vegetables grown for human consumption.
Additionally, FSMA requires specific practices to be implemented and followed for the production, handling, and import of food products through the Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP) for importers of food for humans and animals. The FSVP requires that importers perform certain risk-based activities to verify that food imported into the United States has been produced in a manner that meets applicable US safety standards, such as third-party audits and certification.
The FSMA PSR add-on
To support implementation efforts at producer level, the GLOBALG.A.P. portfolio offers an add-on to the Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) standard for fruit and vegetables. The add-on addresses the requirements in the FSMA PSR and supports importers as a possible verification activity as part of their FSVP.
Benefits of the add-on
- Recognized by the FDA in combination with IFA v5.4-1-GFS as aligned with FSMA PSR
- Provides complete coverage of the FSMA PSR requirements for producers growing fruit and vegetables destined for the US market
- Ensures efficiency for producers by combining the FSMA PSR add-on assessment with their annual IFA inspection/audit
- Delivers credible verification of a producer’s efforts toward FSMA PSR implementation in the form of a certificate of conformance and assessment report issued by GLOBALG.A.P. approved certification bodies
- Prepares exporters to be “FSMA ready” with products entering the US market
- Assures importers that their foreign suppliers are meeting the verification requirements of FSVP
- Enables transparent online validation of a producer’s compliance status in real time through the GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems
The FSMA PSR add-on certificate of conformance is not an assurance or guarantee of legal compliance. Audits conducted against GLOBALG.A.P. standards and add-ons are not a substitute for FDA or state regulatory inspections of compliance with FDA regulations, including the PSR. Please refer to the FDA website for more details.
Find out more at www.globalgap.org/fsma
