AFDO COVID-19 Situation Update
6/3/20

Pandemic Challenges Highlight the Importance of the New Era of Smarter Food Safety

Stephen M. Hahn, M.D., Commissioner of Food and Drugs, and Frank Yiannas, Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response issued an update regarding progress and challenges with the development of the New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint. 

In March, we were a few days away from announcing the release of the New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint when the FDA’s focus turned to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our plans for the New Era initiative were rightfully put on hold in order to prioritize the agency’s COVID-19 response. As a public health agency, we will always prioritize any threat to the health of the American people.

The FDA will release the blueprint in the coming weeks, outlining our plans over the next decade to create a more digital, traceable, and safer food system. The challenges that have arisen during the pandemic have made it clear that the actions called for in the blueprint will strengthen how we approach the safety and security of the food supply, not just in the normal course of events but especially in times of crisis.

In fact, over the past few months we have revised the blueprint in light of the lessons learned during the pandemic. It is clear that COVID-19 has accelerated the need for these measures. Some element of the blueprint are particularly meaningful now, and we’d like to touch on these, starting with tech-enabled traceability.

Read the entire update here. 

You can learn more about the above update from Frank Yiannas, FDA's Deputy Commissioner, Food Policy & Response during a special webinar this Friday, June 5, at NOON EDT. This webinar is part of AFDO's  recognition of the second annual World Food Safety Day. The deputy commissioner will give an update about food safety as part of the Smarter Era initiative and challenges in light of COVID-19. He will share his perspective as we continue moving forward in this unprecedented time and talk about the importance of food safety professionals in that effort. This will be a highly-attended event so register now here. 

Sunday, June 7 marks the second annual World Food Safety Day, a day that draws attention to the importance of safe food, and inspires action to help prevent, detect, and manage foodborne risks worldwide.

FDA Sets Up Voluntary Reporting of Temporary Closures for FDA-Regulated Food Establishments Mechanism

On May 27th, the FDA published the guidance: Reporting a Temporary Closure or Significantly Reduced Production by a Human Food Establishment and Requesting FDA Assistance During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. * The guidance provides a mechanism for FDA-regulated establishments (human food facilities and farms), to voluntarily notify the agency of temporary closures and significant reductions in operations, or to request assistance from FDA on issues that might affect continuity of their operations during the pandemic.

Facilities that manufacture, process, pack or hold food for consumption in the United States, register with FDA initially, and thereafter are required to update registration on a biennial basis or within 60 days, if certain changes in operations were to occur. In many cases, the FDA may not be aware that firms are temporarily closed or need to close as a result of the pandemic. More rapid and specific notification regarding the status of FDA-regulated establishments will help FDA understand the current status of the food supply and address challenges food producers are facing during the pandemic.

This guidance does not apply to restaurant and retail food establishments or to animal food operations. Read the Temporary Closures guidance here.

Petition Seeks COVID-19 Testing, Reporting, Warnings for Meat and Poultry

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has filed a new petition with USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) with implications for meat processing and products. In addition to asking FSIS to require testing of meat and poultry for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 “and immediately make the findings publicly available,” the petition demands that meat and poultry facilities weekly report “the number of workers or worker family members with presumptive or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 and those dying of COVID-19." In the petition, the Physicians Committee contends meat and poultry might contain coronavirus because some employees involved in the production were infected. 

Read the Food Safety News story here.

AFDO Professional Development Series Continues to Add More Offerings - From Manufacturing Practices to Food Trucks to Cannabis

The Association of Food and Drug Officials is continuing its support of our regulatory and industry partners until the COVID-19 outbreak subsides. We continue to provide relevant content to keep staff engaged by offering a growing series of webinars and web-based training courses that can be utilized for staff development. We have provided a variety of courses and webinars and new offerings are added every day.  Please check the webpage to look for the daily additions. And if you missed a webinar, those recordings are available through this page as well. All webinars, webinar recordings and courses are free! Just register for the course using the “Register Now” link associated with that course to obtain the log-in information.
 
In addition, you can access the AFDO podcast catalog at the following links. Videos can be found at https://afdo.podbean.com/ and audio podcasts at https://afdoaudio.podbean.com/. Or download the AFDO app (IT'S FREE) so you can listen or watch on the go. The app is available for iPhone and Android.

If there are topics of interest that you think should be in our catalog, please let us know by emailing afdo@afdo.org.