Tufton Says FSMA Will Boost Quality of Exports

KINGSTON — Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, has said that local exporters should become compliant with the new regulations under the United States’ (US) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), to enhance the quality and competitiveness of their products.

“It is an opportunity for you to become more competitive, to boost your firm’s level of operation to internationally recognised benchmarked standards, that provide for you an opportunity to compete in a marketplace that is constantly changing,” he said.

Dr. Tufton was speaking at Jamaica Promotions Corporation’s (JAMPRO’s) interactive exporter forum, at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston, on Tuesday (October 25).

The forum focused on the FSMA, which was signed into law by U.S. President Barack Obama in January, and its implications for Jamaica’s export sector.

The session was part of a call to action to the exporting sector, in preparing to meet the regulations and the increased inspections to be carried out under the new Act by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), commencing in January, 2012.

Dr. Tufton said that that the new law should not be viewed as punitive, but an opportunity to enhance efficiencies, particularly certification and accreditation.

“If you approach it like that, the enthusiasm and the energy towards making the sacrifices that you must, the costs that are involved, will be seen more as an investment in the future rather than a penalty for a requirement that has been imposed on you,” he said.

Dr. Tufton said that the Government has been working to ensure that measures are put in place to assist businesses to become compliant, through financing options; technical support offered by the Bureau of Standards; a mentorship programme; and working with the Jamaica National Agency of Accreditation to have labs accredited to international standards.

Laboratory accreditation is particularly important, as the new regulations require that all foods entering the USA will need to be analysed by an accredited laboratory, as of January, 2013.

The FSMA is an amendment to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. It provides a legislative mandate requiring a science-based preventative control across the food supply chain, rather than a reactive approach to food safety problems.

Project Coordinator in the FSMA Secretariat at the BSJ, Beverley Miller, explained that the US felt it was necessary to put the Act in place as food borne illnesses are a “big problem” there.

Recent data from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that about 48 million people, or one in six Americans, get sick, and 128,000 are hospitalised and 3,000 die each year from food borne diseases, she said.

She added that food borne illnesses are largely preventable, and are a significant public health burden, therefore, the US saw the need to take some action to prevent the problem.

President of JAMPRO, Sancia Bennett Templer said the forum was part of the agency’s ‘Let’s Talk Export’ forum series, which is part of JAMPRO’s wider mandate transcending its role as promoters of investment and trade in Jamaica.

Discussions surrounded the FSMA requirements; how the regulations under the Act will impact various operations; the necessary preparations that will have to be put in place to meet the requirements and to ensure compliance; and the various initiatives in place to support companies to become compliant with the Act.

By Alecia Smith, JIS Reporter