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Cranberry Hill Farm
10-19-2012, 06:11 PM
Anybody else seen this?

Extended regulations of the 2002 Bio Terrorism Act will be mandatory starting on October 1, until the last day of December. No registration after this date will be accepted. See details on our letter to the food and feed industry below. Make your members aware of the changes.

Everybody will receive a new facility number that has to be available to any purchaser. Every registered facility will need a food safety plan, we will provide in our database to show the prevention practices. A lot of people ask us what is prevention? Easy to answer: To do everything possible to prevent contaminated food or feed entering the supply chain and making people or animals sick. As you noticed the last 2 years we added food safety equipment to ScoringAg’s database as they will be needed in order to comply with the new FDA regulations. Documentation of sanitation practices as well as correct labeling with backed- up data will be a must. Hydro-cooling is a part of food safety too.

Call us with any questions you may have.

Have a great Weekend! Basil Eastwood, USDA



As we are receiving every day more and more phone calls about the new FDA Facility Registration that will be coming mandatory starting on October 1, 2012 and ending on December 31. 2012, we have decided to put the answers together as it is not easy to find them on one piece of paper on the FDA pages.

http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/RegistrationofFoodFacilities/default.htm



Who is required to register as food facilities, which farms or Food/Feed handlers are required to register as food facilities with the Food and Drug Administration?



All domestic and foreign facilities that manufacture, process, pack or hold food for human or animal consumption in the U.S. are mandated to register with FDA.

http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FSMA/ucm314178.htm



What do I have to do if my facility is already registered?

All facilities that are required to register must renew their registrations during the period beginning on October 1 and ending on December 31 of each even-numbered year.



What is a food/feed facility?



A food facility includes any factory, warehouse (course grain/hay storage, drying or grain cleaning or mixing or conditioning facility) or establishment that manufactures, (mills, or feed grinding/mixing operation) or processes, packs, or holds (bin storage) food or feed. Manufacturing/processing activities include making food (feed or rations) chopping from one or more ingredients, or synthesizing, preparing, treating, modifying, or manipulating food or feed crops or ingredients.



On farm washing, trimming off outer leaves, and cooling produce are considered part of harvesting and would not require classification as a facility if done on the same day as harvesting. If you hold the harvest in a storage/cooler or warehouse you are a facility.

Looks like it includes maple syrup and sugarhouses to me!

tuckermtn
10-19-2012, 09:35 PM
maybe I am naive, but I do not see boiling sap in to syrup in that definition.

delivron
10-20-2012, 08:29 PM
Be careful. The regulations have not yet been written for maple. They may be forth coming soon. One of the big questions are you Farm Gate sales or are you selling in Grocery Stores. There may be a difference. I know there will be some discussion in Mystic Ct this week. Also be aware that some third parties are trying to get you to hire them to register you. Don't the basic registration is supposed to be simple.

sapman
10-21-2012, 12:24 AM
Also be aware that some third parties are trying to get you to hire them to register you. ..

I've gotten a couple such letters. I've tossed them both.

Bucket Head
10-21-2012, 10:16 PM
Me too. I recently received one from Registrar Corp. The N.Y. maple assn. sent out an e-mail telling everyone to disregard them. They said things would be changing because of the food safety act, but nothing is official just yet.