FOOD SAFETY LEGISLATION – WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOUR RESTAURANT?
In the past few years, food safety has had an increased presence in the media spotlight. Whether through mainstream channels or through emerging social media, the consumer is more aware of food safety than ever before. High profile foodborne illness outbreaks related to E coli in spinach and Salmonella in eggs and peanut butter have helped garner the attention of legislators as well. This increased food safety awareness helped fuel legislation such as the food safety modernization act and other local food safety regulations.
The food safety modernization act, which was signed in to law earlier this year, basically gives the FDA increased regulatory authority and mandates most food manufacturers to adopt food safety management plans. Although last minute changes to the legislation did exempt most small restaurants and small farmers it is not unreasonable to wonder what impact the legislation will have.
One organization has taken a look at the potential impact of the food safety modernization act and has provided their “Point of View” on why food safety may be good business. Even though small restaurants and small farmers are exempt from implementing food safety standards, there may be a competitive advantage to utilizing voluntary food safety programs/resources such as: Food Safety Manager Certification Exams (ServSafe, Prometric, and NRFSP), FDA Retail HACCP program, HACCP Certification Programs, and 3rd party supplier inspection services.
What are your thoughts on recent food safety legislation? What does this mean for your restaurant? Let us know your thoughts and join us as we discuss more food safety topics in upcoming newsletters.
Contributed by:
Ray Campa, DTR, RS, SNS
FoodSafety Geek
Restaurantmarketingpartners.com
ray@restaurantmarketingpartners.com@restaurantmktvoice 602.492.8419
No comments:
Post a Comment