7 replies to this topic

[Scampi]

Laboratory accreditation required by FSMA finally becoming a reality | Food Safety News

 

As a non American, I'm shocked (and appalled) that it is 2021 and this is just being done now????????

 

I've had to prove the credentials of any labs I have used my entire career, even have to keep the accreditation and standard methods used on file

 

Hopefully this step (which should have happened prior to implementing food fraud) will help improve food safety and remove bad actors

[nwilson]

As an American, I say about time!  Being doing this for years under SQF.  

[TimG]

That's at a federal level, yes. Texas requires lab certifications/accreditation and will come around to perform a lab audit every few years here.

[Scampi]

When so much of your food moves inter-state---to just now have a federal standard-------------whoa

[wtheriot]

That's just Federal. The GFSI Certs have required them for many years. You have to remember the FDA wasn't proactive until FSMA. Previously they were reactionary after a food safety issue hit the market.

 

To me it seems they are just playing catch up with GFSI and writing it as if they just created it. (PC vs CCP)

[TimG]

When so much of your food moves inter-state---to just now have a federal standard-------------whoa

I'd agree. And we have a LOT of manufacturers that fly under the radar, can't get a GFSI, and 'barely' stick to FSMA standards. Once again, the people who work for the govt' that come and audit us are extremely underfunded...so it's pretty much the wild wild west in some plants.

[kfromNE]

My thoughts said above as well. This will stop the plants who use non-certified labs because they are cheap or trying to do it themselves. Also stop these 'pop-up' non-certified labs - offering services at a fraction of the cost because they aren't certified. Or labs that are accredited but not specifically in food testing items but still offering the service.

 

I would say a majority are doing the right thing. I worked in a facility with 12 employees - we were using a certified lab.

 

Scampi - I thought this was already a requirement - facilities using qualified labs.

[mgourley]

If you are certificated to a GFSI auditing scheme, you have to use accredited labs.
 

If you are a food processing facility that expects to stay in business long, not kill people and not go to jail, you use accredited labs.

 

If you work for a company that does not use accredited labs, you need to find another line of work.

 

Marshall