In a complex and global food system, it is critical to protect consumers from contaminated products by being able to rapidly identify their source and remove them from the marketplace as quickly as possible. This is a priority in both the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act and the New Era of Smarter Food Safety.

The ultimate goal in the New Era is to have end-to-end traceability throughout the food system, with firms voluntarily adopting tracing technologies. Harmonizing tracing activities to support interoperability is a priority, as is finding solutions that are achievable for companies of all sizes.

Initiatives

Product Tracing System
FDA is currently developing an internal Product Tracing System (PTS). The purpose of FDA’s PTS is to receive and analyze industry’s traceability data and more effectively and rapidly trace food within the United States. This is consistent with requirements in Section 204(c) of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). FDA’s PTS will enhance existing foodborne outbreak response processes.

Low- or No-Cost Food Traceability
Under the New Era of Smarter Food Safety one of FDA’s goals is to encourage stakeholders, including technology providers, public health advocates, entrepreneurs, and innovators from all disciplines to develop traceability hardware, software, or data analytics platforms that are low-cost or no-cost to the end user.

FSMA Final Rule for Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods
The FDA issued a final rule on food traceability designed to facilitate faster identification and rapid removal of potentially contaminated food from the market, resulting in fewer foodborne illnesses and/or deaths.

Smarter Food Safety Core Elements

New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint

• Core Element 1: Tech-enabled Traceability
• Core Element 2: Smarter Tools and Approaches for Prevention and Outbreak Response
• Core Element 3: New Business Models and Retail Modernization
• Core Element 4: Food Safety Culture