Personnel training is one of the cornerstones of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Under the Preventive Controls rules, employee training is now mandatory for both human food and animal food manufacturers.

The Food and Drug Administra-tion’s time-clock for enforcing the most important FSMA regulation, the “Preventive Controls for Human Foods (PCHF)” started in mid-September 2016. As I write this in early December, it appears that FDA will be training its field investigators and regional milk specialists well past the end of 2016.

The FDA soon will publish the final rules on Preventive Controls for human food and animal food and on Sanitary Food Transportation. These rules are more proactive and processed-oriented than previously required.

A new General Requirements Standard provides benchmark hygienic design criteria to help meet the requirements and objectives of GFSI auditing schemes and regulatory programs under FSMA.

"Are we there yet?” Many senior plant and dairy corporate leaders are wondering when the journey will end regarding full implementation of the Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act.