Will USDA/FSIS & FDA be requiring ISO 22000 Certification?

Far be it from me to start an uncorroborated rumour…but…I heard an interesting rumour that the US Food Regulatory agencies are investigating ISO 22000 Certification as a prerequisite for FDA registration.

Shifting the onus onto the private sector would appear to make perfect sense, as it would allow for regular inspections of food operations against an International Standard whilst reducing costs for the aforementioned agencies.

If true this would surely be a huge boost for ISO and vastly improve the prospect of ISO 22000 becoming THE global food safety standard.

Now is that a rumour or what?

Regards,
Simon

Another snippet can be found here:

Third Party Certification Programs for Foods and Feeds: request for comments

Although the time has passed for submitting comments to FDA on this request it is evidence they are considering third party certification schemes. I guess if they go for it they will accept any GFSI approved certification schemes. But that's just my guess. If so there will be a huge increase of activity in the USA and opportunities for consultants / certification bodies etc. will be plentiful.

Regards,
Simon