The Biennial Registration for Food Facilities – required under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) – was not available on its publicized date of October 1, 2012, and is still not available. The Ohio AgriBusiness Association (OABA) will keep our membership informed as registration becomes available.
FSMA requires the Bioterrorism Act registration to be renewed between the months of October and December of even-numbered years. With 2012 falling into that category, each facility must re-register between October and December of this year. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not finalized its guidance for industry on the registration renewal process, and the system is not operational as of today; therefore, FDA is not accepting any registrations renewals at this time.
FDA recently held a stakeholder conference call on the FSMA registration renewal system. The agency declined to identify the reason for the delay or predict when facility registration would be available. According to them, the agency is evaluating the impact of the delay and if the deadline for registration renewals would be extended past December 31, 2012. If any such extension is granted, OABA will electronically communicate this to members – so stay tuned to News & Notes in the coming months.
Click here to review an FDA Fact Sheet about Biennial Registration of Food Facilities. Additional information regarding Registration Renewal may be found at http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FSMA/ucm314178.htm.