"We recommend that dairy companies consider waiting a few days at least to let the rush die down and any potential glitches can be worked out," said Clay Detlefsen, IDFA vice president of regulatory affairs.
Food producers and manufactures have long been required to register their facilities with FDA, but the Food Safety Modernization Act improves the registration process by ensuring, among other things, that FDA has accurate contact information for each facility.
The new registration form also includes new categories of foods to help FDA rapidly communicate with the right facilities in the event of an emergency. The current "cheese and cheese product" category, for example, has been subdivided into four categories:
- Soft, ripened cheese;
- Semi-soft cheese;
- Hard cheese; and
- Other cheeses and cheese products.
The new registration also requires companies to provide an assurance that they will permit FDA inspections. All facilities will be required to re-register every two years.
Visit FDA’s food facility registration website for more information and to register online. A list of frequently asked questions and answers is available here. FDA has previously said that each facility had to complete the new registration process by December 31, 2012, and no new deadline has been published.
