FDA Creates New Blueprint for Food Safety Protocol
The FDA has created a blueprint for the New Era for Smarter Food Safety, an initiative designed in hopes to initiate a digital food safety system to ensure traceability, accountability, and safety. The Blueprint concentrates on four core elements: Tech-enabled Traceability, Smarter Tools and Approaches for Prevention and Outbreak Response, New Business Models and Retail Modernization, and Food Safety Culture.
The first core element, Tech-enabled Traceability, is perhaps the most important one, declaring the need for food safety accessibility through the utilization of technology. Although new technology, such as analyzing the DNA “fingerprint” to establish the origination of food poisoning outbreak, has been in use by the FDA and other food safety organizations, these new systems have not been connected to one common operation. The FDA intends to both encourage and incentivize the creation of new technology, as well as connect such new technology in the most efficient system possible.
The second core element, Smarter Tools and Approaches for Prevention and Outbreak Response, focuses on the handling of predictive analyses. New tools, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning tools, allow for traceability and the ability to predict possible outbreaks. However, the usage of new technology must be accompanied by regulations in order to ensure the accuracy and precision of such tools. Through the second core element, the FDA ensures regulations on the brand new technological tools used for food safety response.
The third core element, New Business Models and Retail Modernization, highlights the usage of futuristic and current business templates in terms of monitoring and inspecting food safety standards. New systems, such as online food delivery businesses, call for updated food inspection protocols. Thus, the FDA intends to investigate and modify current food safety inspection programs to properly suit new businesses and secure food safety.
The fourth and final core element, Food Safety Culture, intends to support, connect, and educate all groups associated with food safety: farms, factories, government agencies, and consumers. By promoting food safety to all groups involved, protocols and new technology are more likely to be utilized.
After the CDC released new data suggesting a 15% increase in United States food poisoning cases, new protocols and adjustments to food safety protocols are necessary if the United States has any intention of decreasing food poisoning outbreaks. Through this Blueprint created by the FDA, resources can be effectively employed and implemented to ensure food safety.
https://www.fda.gov/food/new-era-smarter-food-safety/new-era-smarter-food-safety-blueprint
