Are your products safe?

On behalf of the FaBsafe Steering Committee and their commitment to Food Safety, welcome to our first FaBsafe Feed!

You're receiving this email because of your role in food safety, regulatory or quality, or because you've attended a FaB food safety event in the past.

The FaBsafe Steering Committee debuted FaB's online Food Safety information in February. Please take the opportunity to scroll through it and provide feedback and leverage it going forward. Please forward this to the people in your company responsible for Regulatory and Food Safety and encourage them to subscribe.

Our goal is to provide information to connect you to the Food and Beverage Safety resources you may need to assure your food safety, quality and regulatory goals.

Every month, you can expect this Feed to share regulatory updates, best practice sessions, and resources and services t o meet industry and regulatory demands for food safety training, operations and trends.

Whether you're an entrepreneur or a small, medium or large food manufacturer, it only takes one food safety incident to deter or end your business. Stay connected, stay safe.

I want to acknowledge our Steering Committee and co-chairs, Paul Benson of Michael Best & Friedrich and Gretchen Gutierrez of Northland Labs, for all the work that was done behind the scenes! We've pulled together an incredibly talented group.

A special thank you to our Annual Gold Sponsor Michael Best & Friedrich for their commitment to providing the monthly regulatory update and ongoing support to the FaB members.

Sincerely,

Pat Werner
Director of Food Quality, Safety & Compliance

And the FaBsafe Co-Chairs and Steering Committee:

Paul Benson, Michael Best & Friedrich
Gretchen Gutierrez, Northland Laboratories
Bryan Dieckelman, Eurofins
Jeanne Hossenlopp, Marquette University
Mark Stencel, Bassett Mechanical
Bob Wills, Clock Shadow Creamery
Andrew Wingers, Maglio Companies

UPCOMING EVENTS

Learn how to tap FaB's food safety resources and FaBsafe network of professionals. Presented by FaBsafe Steering Committee members Gretchen Gutierrez of Northland Laboratories and Pat Werner, FaB's Director Food Quality, Safety and Compliance, attendees will learn how to navigate compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

If you're a food and beverage maker, or providing ingredients to food and beverage makers, compliance is mandatory to operate your business. FSMA compliance is required of small artisans and global corporations alike, with smaller makers having until 2018 to fully comply.

This primer and workshop is geared toward our small to medium food and beverage makers to give you the fundamentals of compliance and introduce you to resources that are available.

>>More information

Following a record year of food recalls, this best practice session will explore how to create a company culture that leads to a food safety mindset to mitigate the chance of a recall within your business. Whether you are a food and beverage maker, or providing ingredients, packaging or equipment to food and beverage makers, food safety is critical to operate your business. And it starts with your employees.

We'll explore recent recalls, the outcomes and how companies manage through a crisis. Meet the panel of member companies that are changing the food safety mindset of their employees and how it impacts their daily operations.compliance and introduce you to resources that are available.

>>More information

REGULATORY UPDATES

The January 2017 Regulatory Update includes the following topics. Click on the link for the complete regulatory update.

JANUARY 20, 2017 WHITE HOUSE MEMORANDUM

Directing the current heads of all executive departments and agencies to halt or postpone regulatory actions until review and approval by the new administration's appointed or designated department or agency head.

>>View Memorandum

JANUARY 30, 2017 EXECUTIVE ORDER 13771

For Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs

directs regulatory agencies to eliminate two existing regulations for every new regulation to be adopted.

>>View Executive Order

MEMORANDUM IMPACT ON FDA'S REGULATION OF FOOD

Specifically related to:

Labeling Interim/Proposed Rules
Provides links to the interim rule for food labeling health claims and proposed labeling rules for nutritional labeling for meat and poultry, healthy labeling for food products, nut butter spread ingredients for bakery.

Guidances/Proposed Rules
Provides links to product specific guidances and pending rules for sprout production, control of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods, vegetable and fruit juice based color additives, food contact substances with infant formula and/or human milk, infant formula labels and claims, classification of activities for farming, processing and harvesting products and hazard analysis, preventive controls for human food.

Regulatory Actions Regarding Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
Provides update on the GMO labeling bill.

>>View Memorandum Impact

The February 2017 Regulatory Update includes the following topics. Click on the link for the complete regulatory update.

DRAFT GUIDANCE

In January 2017, FDA issued a Draft Guidance on Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels entitled "Questions and Answers on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels Related to the Compliance Date, Added Sugars, and Declaration of Quantitative Amounts of Vitamins and Minerals: Guidance for Industry"

>>View Draft Guidance

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS OF INTEREST

a. Use of the term "healthy" in the labeling

b. Draft Guidance on "Fruit Juice and Vegetables as Color Additives in Food"

c. FSIS public meeting to discuss the prevention of undeclared allergens, recalls due to undeclared allergens and best practices

d. Executive Order 13777 implementation of regulatory reform initiatives

>>View Other Developments of Interest