STiR coffee and tea magazine

46 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 4, 2017 (August / September) A By Dan Shryock federal law taking effect this year in the United States requires US importers, including those in the coffee and tea industries, to monitor their overseas suppliers and help protect Americans from foodborne illnesses traceable to raw food products. The law, called the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), calls on the food supply chain to take a transparent, preventative approach to product monitoring. Coffee and tea importers now are responsible for making sure their foreign suppliers have sufficient, documented food safety controls in the countries of origin and all stops along the way before green beans and processed leaves arrive at US ports. The new measures became law in 2011 but began taking effect in 2017. Importers contacted for this article say the new requirements have not created significant problems for them and their suppliers. "The US Food and Drug Administration [FDA] is moving into a more preventative direction," said Bracey Parr, a regulatory specialist for Registrar Corp and an expert on the law. "They've adopted an 'ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure' philosophy." The law was written with scheduled deadlines designed to allow both importers and their overseas suppliers to ramp up their compliance. It started with a softer, educational approach before the law was enforced, Parr said. Even after FSMA phases into full effect, he expects FDA to work with companies rather than punish them for non-compliance. Deadlines are phased in based on each importer's criteria or the foreign supplier's related deadline determined by FSMA's preventive controls rule, which applies to food processors. Importers whose suppliers have more than 500 full-time employees saw their compliance deadline arrive on May 30. Im- porters whose suppliers have fewer than 500 employees have until March 19, 2018, to comply. Finally, importers whose exporters are even smaller have until March 2019. In each instance, the preventive controls rule deadline is extended to six months after the foreign supplier's deadline if that is later. "I don't anticipate FDA coming down hard on anyone," he said. "The biggest thing is filing impor entries at customs. The burden is on the paperwork to get the shipments in." To be in compliance, exporters must analyze their products for possible hazards, provide product histo- ries and other relevant information and pass that on to importers. The importers then must have a plan to make sure each foreign facility is following FDA regulations and that their documents are accurate. "That's because the exporter needs to be in compliance first," Parr said. In the end, imported food must be as safe as domestic products, according to FDA. "FDA can only inspect about 1% of imported food so they're putting the onus on importers," Parr said. And while new laws requiring additional documentation may add workload, many importers pre- pared for the change by working with their suppliers. Small US businesses importing food for human consumption have until September to comply with new US food safety rules. US Importers Comply with Food Safety Rules

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