The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)
The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law on January 4, 2011 by President Obama. It is the most sweeping reform of the United States food safety laws in over 70 years. The overall objective of FSMA is to focus on prevention of foodborne illnesses.
FSMA focuses on prevention, inspection and compliance, response, regulating imported produce to the same standards as domestically grown produce, and enhanced partnerships to increase food safety.
For additional information, see Background on the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act.
There are 7 foundational rules under FSMA (see the full text of the law here):
- Preventive Controls for Human Food (Final, September 2015, Fact Sheet, Draft guidance document)
- Preventive Controls for Animal Food (Final, September 2015, Fact Sheet)
- Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP) for Importers of Food for Humans and Animals (Final, November 2015 , Fact Sheet)
- Accredited Third-Party Certification (Final, November 2015, Fact Sheet)
- Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption (Final, November 2015, Fact Sheet)
- Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food (Final, April 2016, Fact Sheet)
- Mitigation Strategies to Protect Food Against Intentional Adulteration (Final, May 2016, Fact Sheet)
Find updated compliance dates for each rule here.
In addition, FDA has developed guidance to support FSMA rules. Guidance documents represent FDA’s current thinking on a topic. They do not create or confer any rights for or on any person and do not operate to bind FDA or the public. Guidance documents are important tools that support the implementation of FDA rules and may contribute to policy making in the long run. For a full set of FSMA guidance documents, https://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/FSMA/ucm253380.htm#guidance.
For more information on FSMA, please see our FSMA Resources page.