Lieberman PLLC is pleased to announce that Erik Lieberman, principal of Lieberman PLLC and president of U.S. Food Imports LLC has been named to the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance (FSPCA) International Subcommittee.   The FSPCA is a public-private partnership created by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Institute for Food Safety and Health (IFSH).  The main mission of the FSPCA is to support safe food production by developing and delivering a core curriculum, conducting training, and supporting a technical assistance network and outreach programs that will help the human food and animal food industry comply with the Food Safety Modernization Act Preventive Controls regulations.

Deliverables for the FSPCA include:

  • Develop a standardized hazard analysis preventive controls curriculum
  • Create International Centers to offer FSPCA training, technical assistance, and to disseminate scientific and technical information relevant to hazard analysis and preventive controls
  • Create a technical assistance network for industry with emphasis on small and mid-sized human food and animal food companies
  • Develop a compendium of commonly used preventive controls and compile relevant technical information on hazards and preventive controls
  • Function as a bridge between the FDA and the food industry to communicate technical elements of preventive controls
  • Develop a comprehensive network of Lead Instructors interested in providing FSPCA Lead Instructor training programs

Please contact Erik Lieberman at erl@liebermanpllc.com or 202.830.0300 if you have any questions or other input related to the Preventive Controls or Foreign Supplier Verification Program rules that you think should be addressed by the FSPCA.  Lieberman will be focusing on outreach to foreign suppliers of U.S. food industry firms, so information on issues you encounter in dealing with foreign suppliers/food exporters to the U.S. would be particularly helpful.  Please feel free to contact Erik throughout the FSMA implementation process.  As a reminder, the final FSMA rules are required under court order to be published by the following dates:

 

Preventive Controls for Human Food: August 30, 2015

Preventive Controls for Animal Food: August 30, 2015

Produce Safety: October 31, 2015

Foreign Supplier Verification Program: October 31, 2015

Accreditation of Third Party Auditors: October 31, 2015

Sanitary Food Transportation Act: March 31, 2016

Food Defense: May 31, 2016