iFoodDS Commends FDA’s Call for Tech-Enabled Solutions

Last week the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released its New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint signaling changes for companies throughout the produce supply chain. iFoodDecisionSciences (iFoodDS) commends the work of the FDA and is analyzing the blueprint in-depth for the benefit of companies that will be asked to advance the FDA’s food safety initiative.

During the blueprint release, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said, “The world around us is changing rapidly.  Many believe we will see more changes in the food system over the next 10 years than we have in decades. To keep pace with this evolution, FDA is taking a new approach to food safety, leveraging technology and other tools to create a safer and more digital, traceable food system.”

The FDA’s New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint is centered around four core elements:

1. Tech-enabled Traceability
2. Smarter Tools and Approaches for Prevention and Outbreak Response
3. New Business Models and Retail Modernization
4. Food Safety Culture

FDA states that the new blueprint represents achievable goals to enhance traceability, improve predictive analytics, respond more rapidly to outbreaks, address new business models, reduce contamination of food, and foster the development of stronger food safety cultures.

“Farmers, shippers, packers and processors have made great strides over the last two decades in improving food safety practices and procedures, yet we recognize food safety is a continuous journey. Today, our industry is well positioned to meet FDA’s objectives with the technology resources which exist now as well as those that will be developed or improved in the future,” says Diane Wetherington, iFoodDS Executive Chair of the Board.

“Many companies already have embraced technology-based food safety and traceability systems that will serve them well with the new FDA initiative,” Wetherington adds. “Our goal is to work with our companies to help minimize the burden as they comply with the New Era of Smarter Food Safety.”

Over the next few weeks iFoodDS will be publishing a series of articles on each of the four core elements of FDA’s blueprint and how it may evolve going forward.

For a personal consultation on your specific company needs, please contact sales@iFoodDS.com or call 206.219.3703 to learn more about iFoodDS’ food supply chain safety and quality solutions.

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