This month the FSPCA announced that it is accepting Lead Instructors application for the new curriculum related to FSMA’s traceability rule.
Traceability rule as outlined in section 204 of the Food Safety Modernization Act is the newest requirement that will come into effect in January of next year (2026). The objectives of the newly developed curriculum are:
1.Recognize the importance of, and need for, the Food Traceability Rule
2.Identify what is required under the Food Traceability Rule
3.Demonstrate what steps need to be taken to be compliant with the rule.
4.Practice how to develop a traceability plan.
As of today, FSPCA accepts Lead Instructor applications with “train the trainer” courses taking place in October of this year. Curriculum should be available to the audience shortly right after in November.
According to the Traceability Rule all food manufacturing, processing, repacking and holding facilities must have a written Traceability Program and collect certain information to ensure compliance. Regulation pertains to facilities for handling foods included on the Food Traceability List for which the companies must collect certain records containing Key Data Elements (KDE) associated with Critical Tracking Events (CTE). Those records must be submitted to FDA in the event of a recall within 24 hours.
Companies are required to establish Traceability Lot Codes to ensure products are properly identified and the company can link that code to all records associated with their food.
The newly developed training curriculum will provide learners with all necessary information to build their site-specific traceability system and ensure legislative compliance.
Companies that are GFSI certified with schemes such as SQF, BRC and others likely comply with most of the requirements, however GFSI certification doesn’t guarantee full compliance. If you are one of those companies, carefully evaluate your traceability system to see if there are any gaps that must be closed. The new FSPCA Traceability training course is a great way to learn about the requirements and compare to your already exiting Traceability Program.
At BD Food Safety Consultants LLC, we also offer consulting service to ensure compliance with any FDA and USDA regulations including traceability system development.
The dates for the newest FSPCA’s Food Traceability Course will be posted on our website at the end of October. Please visit us at https://bdfoodsafety.com/training-programs/ for more information and to register to any other courses we currently offer.