SEMA_________________________________ SOUTHEASTERN MEAT ASSOCIATION
|
DECEMBER 2010 |
VOLUME 25, No. 12 |
The Food Safety Modernization Act was approved by the U.S. Senate but isn’t law yet, the bill still has to make it through the House. The bill will increase the number of FDA inspections at food processing plants and give the FDA power for mandatory recall food along with suspending a plant’s registration if the product could cause a serious health consequence or death. The bill would set safety standards for imported foods, requiring importers to verify that products grown and processed overseas meet safety standards. The FDA has been inspecting about 1 percent of imported food products. Nevada Senator Harry Reid said, “No one in America should have to worry if the food they put on the table every night is going to harm them or their families”.
Producers who sell directly to consumers and have less than $500,000 in annual sales will be exempt from some of the new regulations. These producers will still be subject to local and state food safety regulations and the FDA would be able to suspend their registration if associated with a food-borne illness.
The Senate and House must reconcile their versions of the food safety reforms by the end of the session.
Just a few things SEMA has worked on this year:
As you can see, SEMA has been working for you and the betterment of the food industry. Hopefully you have benefited from some of the projects and taken advantage of the networking opportunities within the Association. Membership renewals will be mailed out in December. The SEMA Board of Directors and I look forward to working with and for you in the coming year.
FSIS Directive 9600.1 Rev 1 11/02/2010
Illegally Imported or Smuggled Products and Reporting in the Import Alert
Tracking System
This directive provides methodologies that the employees of the Office
of Program Evaluation, Enforcement and Review (OPEER), the Office of
International Affairs (OIA), and the Office of Data Integration and Food
Protection (ODIFP) are to employ when surveillance or investigations
identify meat, poultry, or egg products from a foreign country that have
been illegally imported or smuggled. This directive also explains the
use of the Import Alert Tracking System (IATS).
FSIS Notice 65-10 11/5/2010
Raw Product Destined for Ready-to-Eat Product Excluded from Salmonella Testing
This notice reissues content from FSIS Notice 75-09. This notice advises
inspection program personnel (IPP) that even though most raw meat and
poultry products are subject to Salmonella testing, there is a narrow
set of circumstances in which sampling is not warranted. When an establishment
processes all its products into ready-to-eat (RTE) product or moves all
its raw products for further processing into RTE product at another federally
inspected establishment, the establishment is to be excluded from the
Salmonella verification testing program schedule.
Docket No. FSIS-2010-0031
Uniform Compliance Date for Food Labeling Regulations
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is establishing January
1, 2014, as the uniform compliance date for new meat and poultry product
labeling regulations that are issued between January 1, 2011, and December
31, 2012. FSIS periodically announces uniform compliance dates for new
meat and poultry product labeling regulations to minimize the economic
impact of label changes.
More at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/ Regulations_&_Policies/index.asp.
Formatting Sanitation SOP Daily Record
Q: The establishment uses a single page form that lists individual days
of the week in a column
format, with each day of the week indicated at the top of each column.
The form is identified as
applying to the “Week of” or “Week ending” associated
with a specific date. The form is used to
document the implementation and monitoring of their Sanitation SOP’s.
Does the design of this form meet the intent of 9 CFR 416.16(a)?
A: Yes. The regulation requires that each official establishment shall
maintain daily records. There is
no regulatory requirement that one day’s production be maintained
on a separate form or that each
column header have its own date.
If a single record clearly indicates the days of the week with an inclusive
heading such as “Week of”
or Week ending” with a date, it meets the intent of 416.16(a).
Chilton Consulting Group welcomes Teresa Frey as a new Associate Consultant. Teresa previously worked with the National Meat Association in regulatory affairs. Teresa joins Dr. David Baker, Mr. Wayne Wassner, and Ms. China Reed as new CCG Associates joining this year as we keep expanding our team to meet our client’s needs.
Aspen Systems Inc., a premier developer of enterprise software solutions for the food industry announces the release of Pulse, a customizable module of dashboard displays designed to monitor the heartbeat of a company. Pulse is used to graphically display and track key performance indicators that drive decision making. As an integrated addition to the Canopy Suite of Solutions, Pulse produces instant, real-time information, eliminating the untimely wait for reports or information from 3rd party applications. Additionally, users can customize dashboards to display the information they want to see by utilizing Canopy’s Aspen View Report Writer.
To learn more about Pulse and the Canopy Suite of Solutions or to schedule a demonstration, call 800-767-1970 or email sales@aspen-systems.com
| SEMA Annual Convention 407.365.5661 |
Daytona Beach Shores, FL | June 9-11, 2011 |
Let the spirit of love gently fill our hearts and homes.
In this loveliest
of seasons may you find many reasons for happiness.
Merry Christmas
Happy Hanukkah
From the SEMA Board of Directors and staff