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Food Safety Enhancement Act - Update

19/10/2009 23:52:00 admin

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The Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 HR 2749 has passed the House, while the Senate version (S 510), which is similar to the House bill, is pending but said to be on the fast track. One of the features of this legislation is that it mandates end-to-end traceability of produce and other raw material inputs into processed foods.

Not one of the existing known software and traceability programs are capable to do the required All-Up, All-Down traceback.

Only ScoringAg has an

All-up and All-Down

item-level traceback system,

from Field-to-Fork

in the required electronic Record format (E-Records)

for instantaneous access in case of a recall.

Existing Legislation (Bioterrorism Act 2002)	HR 2749 (Passed)	S 510 (Pending)
One-Up, One Down Traceback	All-Up, All down Traceback	All-Up, All down Traceback
Little Enforcement	Major Enforcement	Major Enforcement
Farms, Restaurants and Groceries exempt, ambiguous link to the farm	Farms, Restaurants and Groceries included, clear links to the farm	Farms, Restaurants and Groceries exempt, clear links to the farm
Any form of records	Only electronic records	Only electronic records
Voluntary Recall	Mandatory Recall	Mandatory Recall
Reasonable Record Access by FDA	Mandatory Immediate Access to Records	Mandatory Immediate Access to Records
No facility registration fees required	US-$ 500 facility registration fee required every year	Facility registration fee is in debate

Comparison of Pending and Existing Traceability Legislation in the U.S. (Source: ARC Advisory Group; article: Barcodes come to the farm.).

The guidelines proposed in PTI, (Produce Traceability Initiative) sponsored by the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, the Produce Marketing Association, and United Fresh Produce Association would improve current produce traceability capabilities, but they fall short of the requirements outlined in the new legislation. PTI seeks to build better transparency based on a common nomenclature for only case labeling.

To set up a complete recordkeeping and traceback system in ScoringAg is easy fast and inexpensive and has worked for many years.

Penalties in HR 2749 for unintentional violations can lead to between $250,000 and $1 million; intentional violations can result in imprisonment for up to ten years. It doesn’t make any difference if the operations is commercial, organic, natural or in any way certified.

This law includes also all imports and exports.

Best Regards,

Brunhilde Merker

CEO

ScoringSystem, Inc.

Bradenton, FL, USA

+ 941-792-6405

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