So far, new traceability proposed rule wins universal acclaim

The industry has yet to weigh in, but public comments are appearing on the Food and Drug Administration’s proposed rule on its designation of high-risk foods for tracing.

The proposed rule is taking comments until Jan. 21.

The FDA said the proposed rule aims to require that entities establish and maintain records containing information on critical tracking events in the supply chain for these designated foods, such as growing, shipping, receiving, creating, and transforming the foods. 

According to the agency, the proposed requirements are intended to help the agency “rapidly and effectively identify recipients of foods to prevent or mitigate foodborne illness outbreaks and address credible threats of serious adverse health consequences or death resulting from foods being adulterated or misbranded.

With exclamation points included, here are some excerpts of a few comments submitted so far:

• I believe that such regulations will be a great implementation to the supply chain of our foods. While it is great to support local farms and have the ability to drive down to where our food was grown, for many Americans, that is not the case.
• The additional traceability recordkeeping seems efficient and necessary in preventing the rise of a foodborne outbreak. Even if an outbreak occurred, the additional recordkeeping would ensure we find the source in little time. 
•  Requiring additional traceability records for certain foods is a great way to ensure that food borne illnesses can be traced back as far as needed to determining when and where an outbreak might have begun. 
• This proposed rule is a fantastic idea and I am not sure why this has not already been implemented for certain foods! Not only does it track the actual food and supplies, but also what it is in and where it goes. This can help solve issues, if they arise, with recalling foods and make it run much quicker and smoother. This will ultimately save many lives!
• This rule is designed very comprehensively in its traceability of not only ingredients, but also products containing those ingredients. The proposed Food Traceability List, if executed properly, could increase the success of food product recalls and decrease the number of people who consume known contaminated food products. 
• This rule is designed very comprehensively in its traceability of not only ingredients, but also products containing those ingredients. The proposed Food Traceability List, if executed properly, could increase the success of food product recalls and decrease the number of people who consume known contaminated food products.

TK: I’m sure parts of the industry may not like all aspects of the propose rule. At the very least, some can be expected to resist a particular commodity’s inclusion on the “high risk” commodity list. More to come on these comments.