The new rule, issued under the bipartisan FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), stipulates the companies to take preventive steps to avoid large scale health hazards.
The new rule intends to improve mitigation strategies to protect the food supply chain.
With the new rule, domestic and international food facilities will have to complete and maintain a written food defense plan which evaluates their potential loopholes that could trigger contamination and cause widespread harm.
Manufacturing facilities would now have to identify and implement the mitigation strategies to address these loopholes and set up food defense monitoring processes and corrective measures.
FDA foods and veterinary medicine incoming deputy commissioner Stephen Ostroff said: "Today's final rule on intentional adulteration will further strengthen the safety of an increasingly global and complex food supply.
"The rule will work in concert with other components of FSMA by preventing food safety problems before they occur."
The rule, which was proposed in December 2013, considered more than 200 comments which were submitted by the food industry, government regulatory partners, consumer advocates and others.
Food manufacturers will be required to comply with the new regulation within three to five years after the final rule is published, depending on the size of their
