FMI reacts to bill aimed at addressing FDA Food Traceability Rule challenges

FMI, The Food Industry Association, says it welcomes a bill proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives that seeks to improve the Food and Drug Administration's Food Traceability Rule.

The Food Traceability Enhancement Act was introduced by Reps. Scott Franklin, R-Fla., Sanford Bishop, D-Ga., and Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., and aims to address key implementation and compliance challenges with the FDA’s Food Traceability Rule, according to a news release.

The legislation would make targeted improvements to the rule that are necessary for more feasible industry compliance while continuing to enhance food safety, the release said.

“There is nothing more important to FMI members and the food industry than the safety of the food we make available to our customers and preventing the spread of foodborne illness,” FMI President and CEO Leslie G. Sarasin said in the release. “Because of their position in the supply chain, our food retail and wholesale members are often the first points of contact in outbreak investigations and serve as central resources in identifying potentially contaminated products that have entered the food supply so that they may be swiftly removed from the marketplace.”

While the FMI supports the Food Safety Modernization Act, Sarasin said in the release that the Food Traceability Rule implementing Section 204 of the law is “overly complex and must be fixed.”

“The current rule will demand tremendous investments of time and resources across the entire food industry for record-keeping, data management and systems changes, without necessarily improving the timeliness of food safety investigations or preventing tainted products from entering the supply chain,” Sarasin said. “Achieving a workable system across the entire supply chain to collect and maintain all data required under the rule by the January 2026 compliance date is simply not feasible.

"Action from Congress is needed to ensure FDA first conducts pilot projects with industry to determine how best to improve the rule such that industry compliance is achievable to allow continued assurance that food safety and prevention of foodborne illness can remain our top priority," Sarasin continued.

Sarasin said the legislation will help resolve key challenges in implementing the rule.

“We encourage members of Congress to co-sponsor this commonsense legislation and look forward to working with them to ensure this legislation is passed this year, even as we continue to collaborate with FDA to seek regulatory implementation solutions,” Sarasin said.