Roy Costa

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The Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) under FDA, was enacted in 2015 to require that foreign suppliers of food provide the same level of food protection for their food as provided by our public health system. This is needed, as outbreaks of foodborne illness continue to occur both in foreign and domestically sourced foods. Under this law, importers (also known as “FSVP importers” for the purpose of the FSVP law, as explained below) must perform a verification that a foreign supplier of food has complied with at least two new major FDA-FSMA federal rules; Produce Safety, and the CGMP and Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food Rules.
Continue Reading The Role of the “FSVP Importer” in FSMA

In today’s world of food safety requirements, food producers large and small and at all levels of the supply chain are subject to increasingly rigorous industry-driven food safety standards and audits. Third party audit standards have been revitalized by the all too apparent ineffectiveness of the way external parties verify food safety programs as brought to light in several foodborne illness outbreaks. Following the Jensen Farms incident, auditing firms have tightened the process for certification, for example, by raising the minimum score required for certification from 85% to 90%. In addition, the administration bodies at the major third party audit firms are intensely scrutinizing audit results and the performance of auditors. The anticipation of the implementation of FDA’s FSMA, turns the pressure up even higher, and it is likely that the third party standards will incorporate large sections of the new federal rules.
Continue Reading Making Room for the Human Element in Food Safety Auditing

Widespread allergen exposures and the extent of the problem

A recent spat of food product recalls due to undeclared allergenic agents illustrates the problem the food industry has in preventing allergen exposures.

Continue Reading Is the Food Industry Doing Enough to Control Allergen’s?

In Response to: “Blue Bell and the Very Real Impact of the Food Safety Modernization Act” at Food Safety news

I appreciate Michael Taylor’s comments in the above article posted on Food Safety News and also believe that FSMA is a step in the right direction. The fact, however, is that companies around the globe have already adopted food safety systems! This article makes it sound like preventative controls are something new and that such programs will be brought about by new federal law. The fact is in most major operations the preventative controls are in place right now. There are firms that have not adopted such in their operations, and FSMA may help to address this, but by and large, the large food borne illness outbreaks we have seen are not the result not having a prevention program, but the failure of the program to prevent the hazard from occurring.Continue Reading In Response to Michael Taylor

Listeria monocytogenes bacteria are very hardy infectious bacteria and widely distributed in nature, and very difficult to control. Listeria monocytogenes previously known to veterinary science as a pathogen of sheep, first came to light as a major foodborne agent when the largest and most deadly outbreaks in US history occurred in queso fresco cheese manufactured in Los Angeles, California. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_foodborne_illness_outbreaks_by_death_toll
Continue Reading Listeria monocytogenes Current Epidemic and Public Health Response

As the result of numerous national and international outbreaks of foodborne illness, food industries worldwide have come under increasing pressure to ensure that their products are safe, wholesome, and meet government standards. FDA and USDA have the primary authority for our food supply nationally, while individual states typically regulate local food operations through state and county departments of agriculture and health.
Continue Reading Process and Substance in Third Party Food Safety Audits