Everyone in the food and beverage industry has at least heard of the Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA). Compliance professionals should be familiar with Section 204, a more recent addition to this legislation. But as an unprecedented step in food safety regulation, mandating more comprehensive traceability requirements than ever before, it has the potential to impact all parts of any F&B organization. To help you prepare, we put together this cheat sheet for FSMA 2024 FAQ.

Underlining the need for traceability

Ultimately, FSMA 204 was not designed as a measure to make your job—or compliance in general—more difficult. It was passed to protect public health by enhancing the ability to track high-risk foods across the supply chain. With more traceability, we can all work together to prevent and respond swiftly to contamination outbreaks.

Still, the industry has a lot of questions about what to expect from implementation, to enforcement, to consumer awareness, and brand protection. We’ve partnered with industry experts, including Andrew Kennedy, whose tenure with the FDA in the Office of Food Policy and Response involved developing the Final Rule for Food Traceability. He’s currently the chief traceability officer for iFoodDS and co-founder of New Era Partners, who helped us answer a number of the questions you’re about to see.

Organizing the need-to-know details

If you’re still wondering why you should download this resource, here’s a quick overview of what you can expect to learn.

• When FSMA 204 goes into effect
• Which food and beverage professionals will feel its impact
• How to prepare for updated compliance deadlines
• Potential consequences of noncompliance
• How to stay up to date on other F&B regulations