FDA Draft Guidance Targets 3rd Party Food Certifiers

WASHINGTON—FDA published a draft guidance, "Voluntary Third-Party Certification Programs for Foods and Feeds," describing the general attributes it believes would help to ensure such certifications reliably reflect the foods and feeds from certified establishments are safe and meet applicable FDA requirements. The agency said the draft is a direct response to recommendations from the Action Plan for Import Safety: A Roadmap for Continual Improvement (November 6, 2007), issued by the Interagency Working Group on Import Safety, as well as FDA’s Food Protection Plan released on the same date.

In this new draft guidance, FDA lays out 12 attributes covering such issues as the authority of a certification body to adequately inspect the establishments seeking certification; qualifications and training for the third-party inspectors; self-assessment of the certification programs and its inspectors; elements of an effective inspection program; notification to FDA; and prevention of conflicts of interest.

FDA welcomes comments at any time, but urges stakeholders to submit comments before Sept. 8, 2008. Specifically, FDA would like to know if some attributes should be removed or added and if the draft guidance provides sufficient information about each attribute.

For more information on the guidance and how to submit comments, visit www.fda.gov/oc/guidance/thirdpartycert.html.