New resources help industry navigate regulatory inspections

Do you know your rights and responsibilities when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shows up to conduct a regulatory inspection at your food facility or farm? New resources — including a June 8 webinar and how-to guide — are now available from Produce Marketing Association’s (PMA) food safety team.

PMA’s food safety team partnered with the international food and drug law firm Keller & Heckman to produce the short, easy to understand “Food Regulatory Inspection Manual.” Designed for nonlawyers, the manual informs, guides and provides an employee training reference for produce industry farms and food facilities. It includes practical information and checklists to help produce businesses prepare for an FDA inspection, as well as what to do during and after an inspection. The guide is designed for C-suite executives and frontline food safety managers alike, and is relevant to businesses across the supply chain to develop a company inspection manual.

“An FDA inspection need not be a stressful experience. The key to a successful inspection is preparation – and the time to prepare is right now, before FDA knocks,” said Leslie Krasny, Esq., the Keller & Heckman attorney who authored the guide.

PMA will host a webinar featuring Krasny on June 8 at from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern Time to introduce the new regulatory inspection guide and give industry members the opportunity to ask questions. Registration for the webinar is free; preregistration is required. To register, visit www.pma.com/events/webinars/2017/fda-knocks. The June 8 webinar will be recorded and posted online for on-demand access.

To download PMA’s new “Food Regulatory Inspection Manual,” and to view other resources the association has produced to help the fresh produce industry implement FSMA, visit www.pma.com/topics/food-safety.