Posted May 23, 2014
On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced an additional 60 days for public comment on its sanitary transportation rule under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), proposed in February, according to an article by Farm Futures available here. A recent post on the subject from this blog is available here.
The proposed rule would require certain shippers, receivers, and carriers, who transport food by motor or rail vehicles, to take preventative measures against the contamination of human and animal food during transportation. The rule would also establish criteria for sanitary transportation practices properly such as refrigerating food, cleaning vehicles between loads, and protecting food during transportation.
The proposal exempts the transportation of fully packaged shelf-stable foods, live food animals, and raw agricultural commodities when transported by farms, but does cover animal feeds.
The extension approval was a result of requests from a variety of groups, including the United Fresh Produce Association, the Agricultural Retailers Association, National Grain and Feed Association, and National Oilseed Processors Association.
The FDA has already held three public meetings on the rule, which can be accessed here, and comments can be made to the Federal Register docket here.
For more information on food safety, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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