The Government Analyst Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD) on Monday commenced a workshop to sensitise stakeholders in the agro-processing industry on the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)
Signed into law by former US President Barack Obama on January 4, 2011, the FSMA aims to ensure the US food supply is safe by shifting the focus from responding to contamination to preventing it. As a result, Caribbean suppliers to the US market who fail to meet the requirements of the law can cause the rejection of goods from the region, including Guyana.
It is against this background that GA-FDD Director Marlan Cole hosted the workshop to prepare and sensitize local manufacturers. “We took the initiative to ensure that trade between Guyana and the US, where food in those niche markets are concerned continue unabated,” Cole said, while also noting that the GA-FDD’s laboratory must be capable of lending support to the industry and the department’s inspectorate.
