Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) regulations represent a paradigm shift in how food is regulated in the United States to protect consumers from foodborne illness. The act and its corresponding regulations not only place more responsibility on food manufacturers, but also provide FDA with substantial new authority to use when inspecting facilities.
As FDA has shifted its focus to implementing the FSMA regulations and inspecting against those standards, it is essential for dairy companies to know where FDA’s authority ends and to be well prepared for FSMA inspections. Two of the most commonly asked questions we receive revolve around FDA’s authority over records access and photography during inspections.