All domestic and foreign facilities that manufacture, process, pack or hold food for human or animal consumption in the U.S. must register with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), according to the new Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
Registering anytime between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31 will keep food companies in compliance with FSMA, according to FDA. Renewal registrations are required every two years in even-number years.
There's been a registration requirement for food manufacturers under the 2002 Bioterrorism Act since Dec. 12, 2003. The FSMA appears to be casting wider net, however. And now registrations can be cancelled for food safety violations.
With its start-up regulatory packages all being held up at the White House, and FDA not doing much talking, some food industry sources are wary about the deadlines that are now approaching.