Local farmers are concerned about new requirements under the United States’ Food Safety Modernisation Act (FSMA).
Some vented their concerns yesterday at a symposium, ‘FMSA – What exporters must know and do to comply,’ hosted by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) at Regency Suites to sensitise food producers, exporters and other stakeholders on the requirements of the law.
With the new rules, the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) has shifted its focus to stopping outbreaks before they start by requiring farmers to address places in production where contamination might occur and to require processors to implement written food-safety plans.
Millions of Americans are falling ill to food-borne illnesses every year and the US has recognised the need to have exporters comply with their regulations, hence the FSMA, which was signed into law in the US in 2011. It basically seeks to provide a safer food supply, a more stable food industry and to prevent diseases from occurring.
Evadnie Ennis, acting Executive Director at GNBS, said that they have recognised the importance of having Guyanese exporters know about the requirements under the law, not only in the US but also domestically.
Agricultural Heath Specialist at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) Dr Maxine Parris-Aaron stated that the law deals with the basic fact of how food is produced from production to the time it hits the table. Farmers, importers and exporters now have to be more detailed and more stringent. “Importers are now responsible for ensuring that their foreign suppliers have adequate prevention controls in place to ensure that their food is safe,” she emphasised.
Farmers and exporters are now being required to identify a US agent, familiarise themselves with packaging, marketing and distribution and establish a food safety plan. They also need to know their supply chain, the required data elements and to keep abreast with the new legislation, since something new is added almost every day.
Currently, there are implications for importing high-risk foods and fresh products to the US under the FSMA, Rodlyn Simon, Technical Officer at the Guyana National Bureau of Standards, said.
Farmers need to have a recall system so that they can know exactly where the problem lies so that they can recall the product effectively, she added. Farmers also need to be aware that the FDA has the authority to detain produce based on “appearance” if it sees that it is in violation of regulations and that entry cannot be refused by the farmer when checks have to be carried out. The cost of the trip by the FDA, including accommodation, will also be borne by the farmer, she added.
One farmer said that one system, the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), is already in place and that is it crazy to implement another one. “It is more work for us. HACCP has not even started in Guyana and now they want to bring this new programme. We don’t have the manpower for this,” the farmer said.
Another farmer stressed that it is virtually impossible to have the market meet the international standard. “There is no standard or guideline for us to work with. Different agencies tell you different things and it is very confusing,” another said.
