In late January, the FDA issued its report on the first year of the Reportable Food Registry. According to Michael Taylor, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods, the data contained in the report “represents an important tool for targeting inspection resources, bringing high risk commodities into focus, and driving positive change in industry practices.” As background, the RFR requires certain food businesses to submit reports through the RFR portal within 24 hours of making a “reportable food” determination. The data indicates that, between September 2009 and September 2010, 2,240 Reportable Food submissions were entered through the Registry, encompassing seven categories of food safety hazards – E. coli; Listeria (14.4% of all entries), Salmonella (37.6%), uneviscerated fish, foreign objects, undeclared allergens (34.9%) and “other”. Given the percentage of entries relating to “undeclared allergens”, food processors can expect special scrutiny from the FDA on that issue, and might consider “revamping” their safety program or manufacturing and labeling process to address it.
(Editor's Note: Attorney Steve Kluting authored this post while working in Varnum's Grand Rapids office. Steve is currently with another company.)