FDA Announces Industry Training on Food Traceability Rule

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in partnership with the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance (FSPCA), has launched a new training curriculum on the Food Traceability Rule (FTR), also known as FSMA Section 204. The course, titled “FSPCA FTR Training for the Food Industry,” is designed to provide industry with the foundational knowledge needed to understand and comply with the FTR, which has a compliance deadline of July 20, 2028.

Registration for participant courses is available on the FSPCA website, along with information for prospective Lead Instructor candidates.

The course provides an understanding of FTR recordkeeping requirements, how participants can recognize the requirements applicable to them based on the supply chain activities they perform, how traceability data are transmitted through the supply chain and what is required in a traceability plan. The training also covers how companies may approach establishing food traceability programs and procedures, including supply chain and data considerations.

The curriculum was designed by regulatory, academia and industry professionals and developed with funding from FDA. FSPCA is a public-private alliance of industry, academia and government stakeholders that has collaborated in developing and delivering training for other FDA rules under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

The FTR establishes traceability recordkeeping requirements beyond those in existing regulations for those who manufacture, process, pack or hold foods included on the Food Traceability List. The final rule requires such entities to maintain records containing information on critical tracking events in the supply chain for these designated foods, such as initial packing, shipping, receiving and transforming these foods. Requirements established in the final rule are designed to help FDA rapidly and effectively identify recipients of these foods to prevent or mitigate foodborne illness outbreaks and address threats of serious adverse health consequences or death, the agency said.

Public Meeting on Traceability Implementation.

On June 15, the FDA will host a virtual public meeting to give stakeholders an opportunity to share information on FTR implementation and areas of remaining concern, specifically as they relate to lot-level tracking and flexibilities for compliance. The FDA and FSPCA will consider information gleaned from this and other stakeholder meetings when making future updates to the training program, said FDA. Information on the public meeting can be found here.