Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
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Ron Tanner is vice president, philanthropy, government, and industry relations for the Specialty Food Association. Basic and Modified FSVP Requirements FSVP importers need to consider the safety risks of the food they import and work with their foreign suppliers to make sure that these hazards are minimized or prevented. They must develop an FSVP for each food they import. The FSVP importer should: • Identify and evaluate hazards and determine if they need a control. • Evaluate each foreign supplier's processes and procedures for ensuring food safety. • Determine what verification activities are necessary, such as audits, sampling/testing, and/or records review. • Reevaluate their foreign supplier every three years. • Keep all documentation for two years, in a form that is accessible to FDA. The importer can rely on its foreign supplier to do most of the work and supply the necessary information. However, the foreign supplier must use a Qualified Individual and the material must be reviewed by the FSVP importer's Qualified Individual. As in the Preventive Controls rules, FDA has modified requirements for small and very small businesses, as requested by the Specialty Food Association. Modified requirements also exist for products being imported from countries that are designated as having "equivalent" food safety systems. As of August 2017, only three countries—New Zealand, Canada, and Australia—are des- ignated as "equivalent." To meet the definition of a "very small importer," a company must have U.S. sales of less than $1 million per year for a three- year period. These very small importers should receive a written assurance from their foreign suppliers that the food is produced in accordance with U.S. food safety regulations. These assurances must be received before the supplier imports the food and must be updated every two years. A written assurance is also adequate when importing from "small foreign suppliers." These are identified as companies with sales of less than $1 million per year for a three-year period. It is important to note that those are total sales, not U.S. sales. Conclusion FSMA will have a dramatic impact on the U.S. importing commu- nity. The responsibility of the importer has changed radically and it will be a challenge for many to comply with the law. However, the result will be a safer food supply for the American consumer. What are your recent biggest successes? Specialty food producers and suppliers weighed in about their recent achievements for the "2017 State of the Specialty Food Industry" report. Sound Off "Amazon entry" "Entered into hotel chains" "Private label" "Appearing on 'Shark Tank'" "Club store expansion" "Iron Chef restaurant, our product served on every plate" "Expansion into large retail chain" specialtyfood.com/stateindustry2017 Find more information at learning.specialtyfood.com under Food Safety. @ specialtyfood.com FALL 2017 90 specialty food maker