FDA Recognizes New Zealand Food Safety System as Comparable

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced for the first time that it recognized a foreign food safety system as comparable. On December 10, 2012, FDA and the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries signed an agreement recognizing each other’s food safety systems as comparable to each other.

FDA’s agreement with New Zealand comes after reviewing their food safety regulatory system and determining that it provides a similar set of protections to that of the FDA. FDA, using the draft International Comparability Assessment Tool (ICAT), reviewed New Zealand’s relevant laws and regulations, inspection programs, response to food-related illness and outbreaks, compliance and enforcement and laboratory support.[1]

FDA’s system recognition process is voluntary. U.S. FDA does not require any country to be recognized in order to export foods to the United States. Currently, there is no guidance document for the systems recognition, but FDA plans to produce a document next year.

FDA and New Zealand’s system recognition process is part of many measures FDA has passed to ensure the safety of foods sold in the United States. Last year, the United States Congress passed the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which was the largest update to U.S. food safety laws since the passage of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in 1938. FDA’s agreement with New Zealand references FSMA as a source of preventative approaches both countries would take in regards to food safety.

FSMA requires FDA to conduct almost 40,000 foreign inspections in the next four years, and at least 19,200 foreign inspections each year after that. Complying with that legal requirement will strain FDA’s resources severely.

One idea for complying with the legal requirement to conduct so many inspections would be for FDA to “adopt” the results of inspections by governmental authorities in countries with “comparable food safety systems.” For example, if New Zealand inspected a facility and shared the results with FDA, FDA might deem the New Zealand inspection results to be as if the inspection had been conducted by FDA itself.

Even with the agreement, “both countries retain the right to conduct inspections of each other’s products as appropriate. But assured about each other’s competency and commitment, both are more likely to focus their resources on higher risks.”[2]

As part of its U.S. Agent service, Registrar Corp offers free pre-inspection assistance to help companies prepare for an FDA inspection. Registrar Corp’s pre-inspection assistance visit includes a site visit by a Registrar Corp food safety expert experienced in FDA inspections. For questions related to U.S. FDA Regulations, please contact Registrar Corp 24/7 at www.registrarcorp.com/livehelp or call us at +1-757-224-0177.

[1] https://www.fda.gov/Food/NewsEvents/ConstituentUpdates/ucm331276.htm

[2] https://blogs.fda.gov/fdavoice/index.php/2012/12/a-new-partnership-with-new-zealand

Fabiola Negron

Widely respected in the Food Safety industry, Fabiola provides insightful education to food and beverage companies worldwide on U.S. FDA regulations resulting from the passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in 2011. Her expertise in creating and reviewing Food Safety plans, helping U.S. importers comply with Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) regulations, and leading our Food Safety team have helped hundreds of companies comply with FDA food and beverage requirements.