Contact:
Nick George, President
608-255-9946
Nick.George@mwfpa.org
Brian Elliott
Dir. of Communications
608-255-9946
Brian.Elliott@mwfpa.org
Processors Partner With Frozen Food Institute
At Preventive Controls Forum
The Midwest Food Processors Association (MWFPA) will partner with the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) in a Food Safety Preventive Controls Forum scheduled for October 19-22 at the Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva, WI.
The Forum will bring together top food safety experts from academia, government, and industry to discuss fundamental Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) requirements and its impact on food manufacturing facilities, and provide guidance on how these regulations can be incorporated into current food safety programs.
Keynote speakers U.S Food and Drug Administration Deputy Director for Regulatory Affairs, Roberta Wagner and Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Food Safety Administrator, Steve Ingham will provide federal and state perspectives on FSMA implementation strategies.
FSMA is the most significant revision to U.S. food safety law since the 1930s. The regulations implementing this groundbreaking law are of corresponding significance. According to MWFPA President Nick George, “These rules will change the way food is produced and facility inspections are conducted for decades to come.”
The forum will include two workshop programs. A key component of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) FSMA-related proposed hazard analysis and preventive controls regulation is the requirement for a written “food safety plan.” As such, the first session of the Forum will focus on “Hazard Analysis and Preventive Controls: Implementing FSMA.”
Participants will learn what FDA inspectors will be looking for in an effective food safety plan, including hazard analysis; identification of preventive controls; specification of environmental procedures; “parameters” or control limits; corrective actions; verification of procedures and implementation of recall plans.
The second session of the Forum will help participants better identify microbial food safety hazards in various food manufacturing environments and develop effective controls to prevent food adulteration.
Pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, and pathogenic Escherichia coli are hazards that can occur in many frozen food processing environments. Industry and academic experts will describe best practices in creating and implementing proper hazard control systems.
According to George, the “Forum will also help participants better comprehend what considerations and changes may be needed to comply with FDA FSMA regulations as they’re being finalized.”
The Forum will be relevant for any food or ingredient company, and manufacturing facilities regulated by the FDA. George added that “Food safety consultants, auditing firms and other service providers will also benefit from our line-up of expert speakers and interaction with fellow attendees and exhibitors.”
Further information regarding the Forum can be obtained at: http://www.affi.org/events/2015-food-safety-preventive-controls-forum
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