Dear all,
I need to record a list of all the microbial specifications that food products must have in the US (when manufactured and sold there). I’ve been checking around and found little beyond FDA CPGs. I haven’t found any single resource that specifies all exiting food classifications and applicable microbial regulations in the USA, which I’m sure must somehow exist. Furthermore CPGs are vague. CPG Sec 527.300, for instance, mentions pathogenic microorganisms, such as Yersinia enterocolitica as pathogenic contaminants, however, no clear threshold values are supplied. CPGs start with a startling cautionary note: “(…) guidances describe the Agency's current thinking on a topic and should be viewed only as recommendations, unless specific regulatory or statutory requirements are cited (…) ”.
I suppose my question, in a nut shell, is what the specific regulatory or statutory requirements are. Are these Federal or should I review state by state regulations? In this regard, is there a practical thumb rule that can be used, e.g. <<California regulations are very similar to those of most states except for NewYork.>>
Any thoughts on how to get started with this challenging task will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance for your assistance!