FDA Proposes New Food Safety Rules

The rules are expected to make food processors more accountable and help reduce food-borne illnesses.

U.S. regulators proposed new food safety rules on Friday.  The rules are required by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and are meant to make food processors and farms more accountable for reducing food-borne illnesses. FSMA was signed into law two years ago but critics have said that the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has since dragged its feet on implementing requirements of the law. Last August, the Center for Food Safety sued the FDA for missing deadlines set under the new law.

Under the new rules, makers of food are required to develop a plan for preventing their products from causing food-borne illnesses and keep records to verify their preventative actions. Another rule proposes new national safety requirements for farmers. Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, says the new law will “transform the FDA from an agency that tracks down outbreaks after the fact to an agency focused on preventing food contamination in the first place.” (Fox News)

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