United Fresh, NASDA call for revised FSMA rule
October 02, 2013 | 03:59 PM
United Fresh Produce Association President Tom Stenzel said that if Mike Taylor, the deputy commissioner for food at the Food and Drug Administration, had been able to speak to the group today he would have told him that United Fresh has joined with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture in asking FDA to issue a revised proposed rule on the Food Safety Modernization Act rather than just a final rule.
The government shutdown prevented Taylor from speaking to the group.
Although issuing a revised rule and asking for comments on it would inevitably slow down the finalization of FSMA, Stenzel said that the request for a revised proposal rather than a final rule is not a delay tactic, but a reflection that FDA will receive so many comments on the rule. A revised rule, Stenzel said, “would give everyone a chance to see what they have changed.”
“Like NASDA, we too have heard a tremendous number of questions raised regarding the complexity of the proposed rules, and whether some aspects of the regulations would truly enhance public health,” United Fresh said in a September 24 news release on the subject.
“In a case such as this with the most profound regulatory overhaul of food safety rules in some 70 years, it’s critical that FDA get this right,” the statement said. “We appreciate that FDA is engaging all stakeholders in extensive dialogue, and anticipate that the public record at the end of the current public comment period will be extensive. Therefore, we join NASDA in its conclusion that this is clearly a situation appropriate for FDA to study all of those public comments, and then issue a revised proposed rule for comment before issuing a final rule.”
Stenzel noted that comments on FSMA are due November 15 and that United Fresh will share its proposed comments with the industry before it submits them.
“We have not changed our food safety rules in 70 years,” Stenzel noted today. “It is important that all of us weigh in on how best to protect public health while keeping the industry alive.”
The government shutdown prevented Taylor from speaking to the group.
Although issuing a revised rule and asking for comments on it would inevitably slow down the finalization of FSMA, Stenzel said that the request for a revised proposal rather than a final rule is not a delay tactic, but a reflection that FDA will receive so many comments on the rule. A revised rule, Stenzel said, “would give everyone a chance to see what they have changed.”
“Like NASDA, we too have heard a tremendous number of questions raised regarding the complexity of the proposed rules, and whether some aspects of the regulations would truly enhance public health,” United Fresh said in a September 24 news release on the subject.
“In a case such as this with the most profound regulatory overhaul of food safety rules in some 70 years, it’s critical that FDA get this right,” the statement said. “We appreciate that FDA is engaging all stakeholders in extensive dialogue, and anticipate that the public record at the end of the current public comment period will be extensive. Therefore, we join NASDA in its conclusion that this is clearly a situation appropriate for FDA to study all of those public comments, and then issue a revised proposed rule for comment before issuing a final rule.”
Stenzel noted that comments on FSMA are due November 15 and that United Fresh will share its proposed comments with the industry before it submits them.
“We have not changed our food safety rules in 70 years,” Stenzel noted today. “It is important that all of us weigh in on how best to protect public health while keeping the industry alive.”
