FSMA's Implementation Will Bring Changes To Food Safety Labs

By Melissa Lind, contributing writer

The Food Safety Modernization act will require research and regulatory laboratories to integrate information and work together in harmonizing standards and expanding surveillance programs.

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) will bring changes to regulatory and research laboratories. FSMA will require these labs to develop integration methods to prioritize risks in the food chain. These laboratories will be expected to establish and evaluate performance standards and participate in increased cooperation with federal agencies, such as the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland security. They must also structure their communication to encompass other federal agencies, along with regional, state, and international partnerships.

Partnerships must include the ability to bridge information gaps, with the ultimate goal of harmonizing standards within food safety laboratory functions. FSMA looks to integrate lab networks and expand food-safety surveillance programs. Palmer Orlandi, PhD., U.S. Public Health Sr. Science Advisor says the FDA is looking for increased partnerships amongst laboratory participants, and not necessarily for a particular group to take the lead. To accomplish these tasks, certain needs and goals must be addressed including:

Needs

• Increasing the number of shared tasks
• Expanding the scope of testing programs and methods of support
• Developing appropriate sampling strategies
• Developing prioritization based on risk assessment

Goals

• Volume building
• Developing methods which are portable, easy-to-use, accurate, and rapid
• Ensuring new methods are robust and transferable
• Increasing ability for source or on-site testing
• Creating a database showing potential contamination, causes, and provides prevention solutions
• Building shareable, targeted, and statistically-relevant surveillance programs

One example of this type of partnership is the Food Emergency Response Network (FERN) run jointly by the FDA and USDA. The network includes over 170 state and federal labs, originally intended for emergency response, but, now, expanded into a food-safety network which participates in large-scale surveillance operations. One additional example is the Integrated Food Safety System, which deals with standard development in areas such as accreditation, methods, regulatory and reporting requirements, and sampling programs. International cooperatives are also being formed with agencies in Mexico and Canada.

Increased cooperation and integration between regulatory and research laboratories could help maximize effectiveness for FSMA initiatives in a system in which participants have been operating independently. Integration and information sharing should help to streamline the achievement of FSMA goals.