FDA Outlines Proposed Food Safety System Recognition for Foreign Governments
The Food and Drug Administration spelled out the rationale and expected processes for the proposed systems recognition assessment program, meant to help the FDA identify countries with effective food safety systems. FDA has been testing and developing a process for conducting systems recognition assessments, "working with New Zealand and the European Union (EU) on initial pilot projects and Canada on a second pilot project," it said. "FDA expects that systems recognition assessments will be a key tool for FDA to utilize in its preventive approach to food safety for imported foods," it said.
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The FDA said it's working on a "multiple-step process to be initiated after a country requests systems recognition" including an ""internal data review of the country’s compliance history." Countries with systems that the FDA finds not to be comparable may still export to the U.S., the agency said. Ideally a systems recognition would mean for a reciprocal consideration from the country, but that won't necessarily be the case, it said. The agency has finished its pilot with New Zealand (see 12121326) and once the other pilots are finished, it will review the systems assessment process and then decide whether to implement it on a full scale, it said.