With the final FSMA IA rule in effect for small businesses since July and large businesses a year before that, coupled with changes to the food supply chain in response to the pandemic, risk assessment and mitigation should be a priority now more than ever. For the refrigeration and frozen food industry specifically, changes have also evolved with the implementation of the Sanitary Transportation rule. Increases in product protection and awareness have raised the standard from what may have sufficed 10-15 years ago. And though the term “mitigation strategies” might be fairly new, general increases and improvements in food protection have been an ongoing industry evolution.
While navigating new regulatory requirements can be tedious, you are not alone in this endeavor. It is possible that procedures and steps already in place meet the intent of mitigation strategies. So how do you ensure that the risk assessments and mitigations in place significantly minimize or prevent the potential for significant vulnerabilities and raise the standard for food protection?