Accreditation of Third-Party Auditors/Certification Bodies to Conduct Food Safety Audits and to Issue Certifications

Résumé

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending its regulations to provide for accreditation of third-party auditors/ certification bodies to conduct food safety audits of foreign food entities, including registered foreign food facilities, and to issue food and facility certifications, under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Use of accredited third-party auditors/ certification bodies and food and facility certifications will help FDA prevent potentially harmful food from reaching U.S. consumers and thereby improve the safety of the U.S. food supply. FDA also expects that these regulations will increase efficiency by reducing the number of redundant food safety audits.