New food traceability rules might affect growers

Added on 05 December 2022

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New food traceability rules might affect growers

The International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) has shared its initial reactions to the newly published rule on the Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods (Food Traceability Final Rule). The final rule was released on Nov. 15 and sets additional traceability recordkeeping requirements for companies who manufacture, process, pack, or hold foods included on the Food Traceability List (FTL) which includes fresh produce commodities.

“IFPA is committed to working with the FDA to help our members understand and comply with the requirements of the final rule,” says Ed Treacy, Vice President of Supply Chain and Sustainability at IFPA. “We appreciate that the major concerns we had about the draft rule have been addressed. We encourage our members to participate in upcoming opportunities to learn more about how this rule impacts their business.”

Here are highlights from the final rule, including those that align with issues that both Produce Marketing Association and United Fresh advocated for:

The Rule becomes effective 60 days after it is published in the Federal Registry. This is estimated to be Jan. 20, 2023.
The Enforcement Date has been pushed back 12 months to Jan. 20, 2026.
The first receiver record keeping requirements of growing location and harvesting information have been moved to the initial packer.
The contract information of the person who assigned the lot number has been replaced by including a point of contact (i.e. title of position) within the traceability plan.
The final rule removed the requirement to capture, store, and share the entry number assigned to imported food.

There are two upcoming events where industry members can learn more about the final rule and the impact on the industry.