Where does your food come from? While some consumers might be able to answer that question by looking carefully at labels in a grocery store, how do you know where restaurants get the food they serve you?
With the new food safety legislation set to go in to effect by the end of 2012, restaurants will have to post that information in plain view of their customers. This provision is just one of the many contained in the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which President Obama signed in to law this past January.
While the FSMA may have less of an impact on restaurants than the nutritional menu labeling laws contained within the health care reform bill, it signifies the most sweeping reform of food safety laws since 1938. It will create new requirements for foreign suppliers, as well as for local suppliers and the restaurants that utilize them.
Though the major changes instituted by the FSMA apply mostly to food suppliers, club restaurants will still be affected by some of the new requirements of the law. In addition to posting signs regarding potential produce concerns for locally grown food, restaurants that import foreign food must also be a part of the new foreign supplier verification program. Furthermore, all restaurants must be prepared to respond to the FDA’s new recall management authority.
Once the FSMA is fully in place, it is likely that the number of food recalls initiated by food suppliers will increase. Club restaurants must be prepared to carefully monitor their food suppliers and create a plan to effectively manage the recall process. Clubs should be prepared for potential issues created by a recall, such as increased costs or a shortage of popular menu items, and should also develop their own recall action plans. Preemptive staff training on what to do in case of a recall can ensure effective communication among kitchen and wait staff to better protect club members from being served contaminated food.
Foreign Suppliers
The new law establishes new requirements for restaurant operators and food suppliers—which come with costly penalties for non-compliance. Restaurants should complete a full assessment of their suppliers’ certification and facilities in advance, so they can be sure everything is in order before they need to comply.
Safety is the focus of the FSMA, and facilities will now have to be registered twice per year, as opposed to the one time initial registration that is required under the current law. Suppliers will need to have preventative controls and safety plans in place at their facilities, in addition to detailed and accessible record keeping systems.
In order to ensure the consistency of food safety and inspection, foreign suppliers will need to adhere to the same guidelines and FDA inspections as domestic facilities. If suppliers fail inspections, they will be required to submit to a re-inspection at their own expense. Additionally, if there is for any reason a recall, suppliers will also be expected to pay a fine.
Under the new law, the provision granting the FDA mandatory recall authority will likely have the greatest impact on suppliers. If the FDA has either evidence or simply suspicion of a health risk, they can issue a mandatory recall and suspend facilities accordingly.
Local Suppliers
Restaurants that use local produce also are subject to changes within the law. Before looking to local suppliers for their produce, restaurant operators should be aware of certain issues affecting any facility including: prior land use on the property and in the surrounding area, the source of and safety testing for all water used, the type of fertilizer used (customers will be able to see that information, and some people are not particularly amenable to eating food grown in manure), methods of pest and animal control at the facility, harvesting practices, employee hygiene requirements, equipment sanitation procedures, and the traceability of any issues that may arise.
Restaurants should also be sure to thoroughly investigate suppliers’ certifications and reputations, and select suppliers based upon Good Agricultural Practice post-harvest guidelines, as well as upon Good Manufacturing Practices, Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, as well as upon facilities’ allergen controls and trace back systems.
Local farms that supply restaurants will need to have an outline of their growing practices and an explanation of possible concerns for the safety of their products posted in prominent areas of restaurants that utilize their produce. Customer communication is also a key aspect of the new FSMA, and restaurants need to be sure to alert them if a recall occurs.
Why FSMA?
After several years of scares over food safety, consumer perceptions called for legislation to help make food consumed in the U.S. safer to eat. According to a new International Food Information Council Foundation survey, 70 percent of Americans believe that it is the government’s responsibility to ensure food safety. The public also had significant concerns regarding foreign-supplied food, with 65 percent believing that there is a higher risk associated with it, since they perceive it as being subject to looser regulations.
In the U.S., half of the survey respondents indicated that they were only “somewhat” confident in the level of safety within the American food supply, and 31 percent of respondents couldn’t even identify whether they were confident or not.
The FSMA is intended to put clear practices in place to identify and quickly act upon potential foodservice industry concerns, and ultimately make food safer to eat.
Jackie Abrams is NCA’s communications manager.