FDA: No October 1 FSMA Registration for Feed Industry
Announcement sent in an Email alert last week
FDA, in an unusual email alert sent last week, said it will not accept food and feed industry company registrations beginning October 1, as required under the new Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). However, the agency further confused the situation by reporting the “back-end timing” – completion of registrations by December 31 – remains in place. FDA told various media outlets this week it is not sure when FSMA registrations will begin. The registration announcement compounds regulated industry’s frustration with the agency and the Administration as several of the new rules implementing FSMA requirements, including a rule specific to the feed industry, have been held up at the Office of Management & Budget (OMB) for months and also missed their deadlines for publication. The registration announcement came after the Grocery Manufacturers Assn. (GMA) sent a letter signed by a number of related associations expressing concern over confusion surrounding many of the new FSMA registration requirements. FDA has issued no final guidance on the process, a necessity GMA said, so companies don’t expend effort and dollars gathering information unneeded in the process.
