Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/491368
16 STiR tea & coffee industry international he Food and Drug Administration has called the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) the broadest and most impactful piece of food safety legislation since the 1930's. For importers in the contemporary coffee industry, FSMA is the biggest regulatory challenge they've faced since the Bioterrorism Act of 2002. Many coffee importers are waiting on pins and needles to discover how their companies and their profits will be affected by the final wording of the regulations implementing the new law. Others have voluntarily raised the bar on standards and transparency so high that they're positioned to be the leading lights in the challenging days ahead. Maile Gradison Hermida is an associate at the Hogan Lovells law firm in Washington, DC. Hermida is an expert on the FSMA who's been studying the legislation and tracking its evolution and implementation for years. "Right now we're going through the rule making process," she says, adding, "We have a chance for public comments since the rules won't be finalized until 2015." "The National Coffee Association (NCA) has requested that green coffee be exempt from the new rules for produce," said Hermida, explaining that "green coffee is going to be further processed and not consumed the way apples might be. Apples for apple juice are already exempted for this same reason." How the produce safety aspects of the new legislation affects the green coffee industry currently comes down to a single exemption that either could cost the industry millions, she explains. An overarching priority of the FSMA is to standardize the safety of food brought into the US to conform to standards we already have at home, said Hermida. "A main focus is raising the safety of imports," said Hermida. "They want foods to be equally safe whether they are made in the US or overseas. One of the ways the law works is by recognizing that the government has limited resources to ensure safety so they are shifting the burden to importers to make sure the food is safe." FSMA potentially impacts every type of food making its way to the US. If green coffee gets a pass from the produce safety rules, it will be because of an industry-wide effort to obtain an exemption. Coffee importers haven't seen anything as complex and comprehensive since the days following the 9-11 attacks. The Green Coffee Exemption T Attorney Maile Hermida GCA's Don Pisano Checking coffee quality is a never-ending task. Much Hinges on Modifying the Food Safety Modernization Act NEWS By Joe Nolan