In late January 2015, a new bill was introduced to congress concerning food safety and the governing of the topic. The proposed act, known as the Safe Food Act of 2015, would create one independent federal agency for all aspects of food production. Currently, as many as 15 agencies have certain governing power over food processing including the USDA, Department of Health, and the FDA.
The new agency will be known as the 'Food Safety Administration' and will be responsible for regulating food safety, labeling, and the inspection aspects of facilities. The hope is that with the new singular agency, there will not be as many food borne illness outbreaks, as food will be more strictly monitored through the entire process by a single agency. This will prevent overlapping guidelines and provide clearly defined regulations for food processors.
With the creation of the Food Safety Administration, a possibility also exists for the United States to become an international food safety leader and increase international trade interest.
In an effort to unify the currently fragmented regulations, the Food Safety Administration will likely impose new regulations that food processors must comply with. It is undeniable fact that many regulations will revolve around the temperature and humidity that edibles are exposed to during cooking, cooling, storage, and transportation. Luckily, MadgeTech has a full line of food processing data logger solutions to assist in making compliance as simple as possible.
Although the act will likely take years before fully implemented, food processors should be aware of what is on the horizon in terms of new regulations and how to correctly comply with them.
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