Posted: June 29th, 2012 - 10:37am
Source: IMEC

Changes to national, global food requirements could mean loss of business without compliance
Food processors, suppliers or packagers across the nation should be aware; operations could be greatly affected by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). These two separate initiatives represent the most radical change to the food supply chain in the last 80 years. A company’s failure to meet the requirements of FSMA and GFSI have cost the company significant revenues, and in some much worse cases, even resulted in a shutdown of operations.
Over 90,000 food suppliers in the US will be affected by FSMA, so even the smallest companies throughout the supply chain will not be able to avoid the regulations. Acting under FSMA, the FDA has already shut down a number of plants under a “guilty until proven innocent” approach.
Larger food companies have achieved their GFSI certification in one of the standards (SQF, BRC, FSSC 22000, IFS, etc.). Companies within these supply chains may have already been asked to become certified as well. Not becoming GFSI certified could result in lost business. Until recently, the process of becoming certified was difficult for smaller companies. But experts across the state are providing food manufacturers and packagers with an opportunity to educate themselves on the changes and learn how to address the present issues.
Alchemy Systems and the Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center (IMEC) have partnered to educate companies on the recent changes and to begin assessing their current state and future expectations pertaining to the regulations. The workshops are designed to cut through the mysteries of FSMA and GFSI and help chart a path for compliance. In order to address companies of all types and sizes, the workshops have been set-up to take place at various locations throughout the state of Illinois. Beginning July 9th in Chicago, the series will run July 10th in Joliet and July 11th in Bloomington-Normal, before ending on July 12thin Mount Vernon.
In the half-day workshop, companies will discover:
What impact FSMA is likely to have on operations in the next 18 months.
Which companies are most at risk from FSMA.
If current recordkeeping will satisfy the FDA inspector and the GFSI auditor.
The differences between GFSI certifications and which might be the best for a business.