A question about the Impact of the US Food Safety Modernization Act

Forgive me if this seems like a very silly question for all of you expert Food/Safety/Quality/ Professionals out there, but as previously mentioned in my "Introducing Myself" posts yesterday, I'm a complete "newbie" in every sense of the word when it comes to Safe Quality Food Initiatives, acronyms, and terminology after being "thrust" into a new role as my company's SQF Practitioner at the start of the New Year.

QUESTION: What impact (if any) will the looming US Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) have on SQF Level 2? 

My understanding is that the FSMA will be fully implemented by 2016 and so I'm just trying to be proactive in thinking ahead and possibly preparing for its impact on our company's implementation of SQF Level 2 Certification for the first time this year.

Is it something that will simply "reinforce" and "underscore" what's already in place or, as with most things mandated by our governments, will it have a significant effect upon our SQF System that will already be in place by then (i.e., in other words, will there be even more work for us to do once the FSMA kicks into high-gear or additional Clauses to implement along with an SQF Level 2 Certified System?)?

I'll admit, I haven't had any time at all to really research and read up on the FSMA since all of my time has been spent absorbing HACCP/SQF material, which is why I thought I'd reach out and present the question to all of you.

Thanks in advance for your time and help!

All The Best,

Jeff

The short answer is we don't know yet.  Until the act is finalized most of us are taking a wait and see approach. 

Great, thanks. That's what I was looking for. Glad it's one less thing for me to worry about...for right now.

Jeff

IMEX, governmental rules will be a bit more lax than GFSI standards.  This may change with FSMA, but I don't expect it to.

I stand corrected then. That's what I'm hoping for, Setanta, b/c it seems like the GFSI standards are more than capable of getting the job done w/o the need for more mandatory regulations, IMHO. Thanks for the input everyone!

Jeff

I agree with the girls, from all of the webinars and articles that I've read FMSA is going to be more lax and and less specific than GFSI standards, however covering the same scope. However, as with any new piece of legislation..; I will believe it when I see it. 

This is almost a year old, but still has some good info.

Marshall

Marshall,

That looks like a GREAT resource -- thank you!

Jeff