Registrar Corp., Hampton, Va., has acquired Vinca LLC, which provides online training for food safety management systems.
Vinca’s training programs cover food safety standards that include the Food Safety Modernization Act and Global Food Safety Initiative.
Registrar customers can access Vinca’s library of online courses through Registrar’s online compliance management system, according to a news release. Food facilities can monitor their FDA compliance status through the site.
“We have heard from our clients that they want additional online training opportunities,” David Lennarz, Registrar president, said in the release. “With the global coronavirus pandemic causing in-person education to be cancelled, we are particularly excited to add Vinca’s training courses to our suite of FDA compliance solutions.”
Registrar’s online compliance management system, MyFDA, is designed as a one-stop shop to manage compliance of food safety and other FDA rules.
“Registrar Corp. has the global scale and expertise to take Vinca’s offerings to the next level,” Cynthia Weber, co-president of Vinca, said in the release. “I am excited to focus fully on content creation, in addition to launching our outstanding courses into multiple languages.”
Weber and co-president Betsy Hsiao remain with the company and will continue to develop training courses.
Weber trains companies on the FSMA’s Preventive Controls rules, among other training.
FDA facilities
Registrar recently released a report detailing the number of food facilities in the U.S. and worldwide that are registered through the FDA, a requirement to export to the U.S. According to the FDA, 57% of the 221,843 facilities are outside of the U.S.
In the past three years (through December), the number has gradually increased 7%, according to Registrar.
The report also includes statistics from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Some of the higher value imports into the U.S. include:
- Fresh vegetables from China, $160 million;
- Fresh vegetables from Mexico, $5.9 billion; and
- Fresh fruit from Mexico, $5.8 billion.
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