New Food Recall Law May Catch Companies Napping, Food Safety Experts Warn

Experts who follow food safety urged every business involved in putting meals on America's tables -- from growers to retailers -- to study the new Food Safety Modernization Act and then get the insurance they'll need to face a radically altered regulatory landscape.

The FSMA, signed by President Barack Obama, gives the federal Food and Drug Administration sweeping new authority to inspect, regulate and if needed, shut down any company along the food chain that is involved in product recalls and incidents of food-borne illness. It grants the FDA power to act if it suspects a "reasonable probability" of an outbreak occurring, and virtually unlimited authority in case of an actual outbreak.

Under a "phased approach" similar to the way the United Kingdom implemented its food-inspection regime in 1990, the FSMA's first two rules will take hold this summer, Steven Thompson, senior adviser at London-based red24 security consultancy, said during A.M. Best Co.'s webinar, Food Safety: What Agents and Brokers Need to Know About New FDA Recall Authority. It was sponsored by Liberty Underwriters International and hosted by Best's Review magazine.

The first rule allows the FDA to detain food it believes has been produced under unsanitary or unsafe conditions for 30 days while regulators determine whether further action is required. The second rule requires anyone importing food into the United States to inform the FDA if any country has refused entry to the same product, including animal feed.

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