Explain the importance of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

Explanation should include how the FSMA is focusing on preventing foodborne illnesses that threaten public health and the economic well-being of the food system through the regulatory procedures and guidelines used to implement FSMA:

• Accredited Third-Party Certification
• Current Good Manufacturing Practice and Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food
• Current Good Manufacturing Practice and Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Food for Animals
• Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP)
• Mitigation Strategies to Protect Food Against Intentional Adulteration
• Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food
• Standards for Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption
• Voluntary Qualified Importer Program (VQIP)

Process/Skill Questions:

• What is the significance of FSMA with regard to food safety and the public welfare?
• How can commercial processing reduce microorganisms that are a concern to public health?
• What measures are required to prevent ill personnel from contaminating covered produce?