Customer satisfaction should be your number one priority as a food business owner. Following the current trends, consumers are wary of what they consume and always look for information on the food they purchase. In addition, authorities have established food traceability system regulations to enhance food safety. This ensures that consumers have confidence and assurance that their food is safe with no adverse effects. Here’s more on food traceability system regulations and compliance requirements for food businesses.
Food traceability systems in the United States
Traceability requirements vary from one region to another. Therefore, it’s critical for food business owners to identify regulations that apply in their region. Here’s an overview of traceability regulations in the United States.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States is responsible for ensuring food safety and efficacy. Therefore it has established a food traceability system with compliance requirements for the food business. This system, also termed the food traceability final rule, states that food handlers should establish traceability record-keeping requirements. Therefore, food businesses should comply with traceability record-keeping requirements, including those that manufacture, process, pack, or hold foods.
The Proposed Rule
The rule proposes to keep records describing their traceability operations. Such information includes vital data elements associated with critical tracking events in the supply chain, such as growing, receiving, transforming, creating, and shipping the listed foods.
Traceability record-keeping makes it easy to trace, identify, and recall harmful food products before they get to the consumers. In addition, the information is critical when dealing with food-borne illnesses to prevent adverse outcomes.
Food traceability is critical when dealing with borne outbreaks. Therefore, regulations exist to ensure food handlers such as manufacturers, processors, packagers, and holders have the proper traceability records. However, these regulations vary from one region to another.
