FDA Updates Guidance on Exemptions from FSMA

Posted on December 23, 2021

• As previously reported on this blog, in 2017 FDA issued guidance documents on exemptions from FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) rules to clarify which parts of the FSMA rules applied to producers of low-acid canned foods, juice, and seafood. The guidance documents issued were:
  • Juice HACCP and the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act: Guidance for Industry
  • Seafood HACCP and the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act: Guidance for Industry
  • Low-Acid Foods Packaged in Hermetically Sealed Containers (LACF) Regulation and the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act: Guidance for Industry
• On December 21, 2021, FDA announced that it had updated the guidance documents to clarify the connection between the FSMA regulations and the regulations that were in place pre-FSMA.
• Updates to the guidance documents include new questions and answers regarding central kitchens and transportation caterers, as well as the deletion of past compliance dates.  Keller and Heckman will continue to monitor and report on this and similar matters.