Food Online's Top 10 Of July

By Sam Lewis

What was most important to our readers in July? Take a look back at last month by reviewing the 10 most-popular articles that appeared on Food Online.

1. FSMA Roundup: An Overview Of The FDA's Seven Major Rules
   In 2011, President Obama signed FSMA — a body of regulatory works that quickly became the most sweeping reform of the U.S. food safety system in over 70 years — into law. The FDA published seven major rules under FSMA, each of which created new requirements that put more responsibility on industry to prevent contamination of the U.S. food supply rather than reacting to it. This article will review all of FSMA’s seven final rules and briefly cover points of compliance, as well as each rule’s compliance dates.
    
2. The ABCs Of Building A Food Safety Plan: From HACCP To HARPC
   The FDA required hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) for juice and seafood, and the USDA for meat and poultry. The Food Safety Modernization Act’s (FSMA) proposed Preventive Controls rule for Human Food requires a written Food Safety Plan (FSP) be developed using the hazard analysis risk-based preventive control (HARPC) approach. A preventive approach to food safety is nothing new. But the HARPC approach is a new paradigm shift in thinking. This article will explain this new thinking, define, what HARPC approach is, explain how HARPC is different than HACCP, and how employing this thinking helps you arrive at developing a Food Safety Plan.
    
3. Debunking 5 GFSI Myths
   While there are many new policies — from both the private sector and governing bodies — designed to improve food safety, they have created some confusion and ambiguity regarding what GFSI is, what it wants to accomplish, and how GFSI will accomplish its goals. Here, Karil Kochenderfer, GFSI’s North American Representative, clarifies five common misconceptions about the organization and its mission.
    
4. FDA Labeling Changes: A Survival Guide
   Labeling changes can keep you awake at night—literally. Whether it’s an update to a company logo or a minor change to an ingredient statement, changing labels will raise your stress level. Using labels out of sequence, obsolete labels, or just plain wrong labels can be costly. Labeling mistakes will take a chunk out of your bottom line, lead to loss of customer and consumer confidence, or trigger a recall.
    
5. FSMA's Final Rule On Food Defense: What You Need To Know
   The objective of the last of FSMA’s last major rule — Mitigation Strategies to Protect Food Against Intentional Adulteration — is to thwart an intentional attack on the food supply that results in widespread public health harm, whether conducted by an outsider, or someone within your facility such as a disgruntled employee. The final rule, which was released ahead of schedule on May 26, provides an appropriate level of flexibility to firms required to develop and implement food defense plans, compared to the rule as initially proposed. This article will briefly touch on the major points of the rule and offer guidance toward compliance.
    
6. Have We Lost Our Way With HACCP
   As food safety becomes an increasingly important issue, it might be a good idea to take a step back and reexamine your food safety plans. Asking a few key questions, such as “who are my customers?” and “how do my HACCP plans help them?” are a good place to start.
    
7. How Is JIFSAN Helping To Modernize Global Food Safety?
   As the supply chain continues to expand its global reach, the need for improved food safety at every stretch of the globe becomes greater and greater. Here, Janie Dubois, laboratory program manager for the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN), answers Global Food Safety Forum (GFSF) Chairman Rick Gilmore’s questions on behalf of Food Online about JIFSAN’s efforts to improve food safety on a global level. Dubois also addresses some of the latest technologies that are improving food safety.
    
8. Assessing Risk And Preventing Food Fraud With A PRN System
   Food fraud is an easy term to define and understand, but it’s not so easy of an obstacle to overcome. Here, Gordon Hayburn, vice president of food safety and quality at Trophy Foods, discusses his company’s experience in assessing vulnerability to food fraud and the company’s efforts to combat it.
    
9. Countdown To FSMA: 5 Things You Need To Know Now
   If you’re like most food safety professionals, you first heard about the Food Safety Modernization Act when President Obama signed it into law in 2011. Five years later, the first FSMA compliance deadline is only months away and many businesses are still scrambling. What will FSMA look like for our company? What do you need to do before the first compliance deadline in September 2016? And, most importantly, how will FSMA impact your organization? Today, we’re going to take a look at the five things you need to understand now to better prepare for upcoming FSMA implementation.
    
10. I've Purchased And Implemented An Electronic Traceability System: Now What?
    In today’s competitive food industry, any business decision to purchase new technology should undergo a cost-benefit analysis as it is an investment intended to ultimately benefit your business and improve its bottom line. Implementing an electronic food traceability system should not be considered any different. It should be looked at in the same light as determining if the company should invest in new equipment for your plants’ floor or even a building expansion. It all comes down to the questions, “What are the benefits of this investment?” and “How long can I expect to see the payoff?”