FSMA- HARPC in the Standard Traffic

U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act

FSMA (pronounced “fiz-ma”) consists of 7 core principles.

Do you hold a BRC, IFS, ISO 22000, or FSSC 22000 certificate and wonder how the U.S.-published FSMA law affects you?

Are you planning to export products to the United States and want to understand what is required of you?

Are you working in food standards as a consultant or auditor?

Have you come across PCQI (Preventive Controls Qualified Individuals) training and want to ask someone how to earn this qualification?

In our previous article, you may recall we raised questions about how foodborne illnesses are reported and data is collected in Türkiye. When the United States analyzed its own foodborne illness data, it introduced additional requirements to existing food safety systems and published FSMA. As of January 2016, FSMA became mandatory for organizations operating in the U.S. or trading with it. As a result, FSMA training—originally U.S.-based—began to resonate and raise questions in Türkiye as well.

The FDA (U.S. Food Authority), while recognizing internationally accepted standards approved by GFSI such as BRC, IFS, SQF, and FSSC 22000, developed its own internal control program for both domestic and imported products, naming it FSMA. This led all standard publishers to begin analyzing and aligning with FSMA. As of now, BRC has developed an additional audit module; FSSC 22000 confirmed its alignment with FSMA through a comparison table published on its website with version 4; and SQF declared compliance with FSMA in its latest version.

Topics currently under discussion include whether certification bodies can conduct FSMA and FSVP audits, and how auditors will be approved. The latest updates will come from the certification bodies themselves.

Purpose:

Ultimately, the main goal is to prevent food safety hazards and improve the effectiveness of food safety systems. With FSMA, the term HARPC (Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls) has begun to replace HACCP. What matters to food safety practitioners is the outcome. Those implementing FSMA must work with PCQI-certified consultants—trained by FDA-authorized providers—to review their food safety plans every three years.

HACCP and HARPC are not the same.The concept of “critical control points” has evolved into “preventive controls.” In HARPC, physical, chemical, and microbiological hazards are joined by radiological hazards. For more detailed and up-to-date information, you can visit the FDA’s official website.

Fatma İnceoğlu, 03.04.2017