FDA Public Meetings on Produce Traceability Set for Oct. 16
by sterling1 on Sep 27, 2008 • 1:43 am No CommentsIf you take a look at this news bulletin from this week, you’ll see the FDA is moving ahead on two fronts: 1.) It is getting serious about produce traceability solutions and standards; and, 2.) they are backing GS1 as the produce traceability standard. Now what are the chances the FDA would select a different global standard when it comes to medical devices and products? I’d put that at about… um… zero.
Meanwhile, here’s the essence of the news about upcoming FDA meetings for public participation:
Seeking to increase the speed and effectiveness of traceback investigations for fresh produce, the Food and Drug Administration has scheduled public meetings in October and November to hear answers from the fruit and vegetable industry and other stakeholders… The primary features of the Produce Traceability Initiative include the use of the GS1 identifier for companies combined with a company-specified item number, Gombas [Dave Gombas, senior vice president for food safety and technology for United Fresh] said Sept. 23. Together, those form the 14-digit Global Trade Item Number that can be human-readable or bar-coded, Gombas said. The industry system also will use a specific lot number on each case that can be read, captured and stored by fresh produce handlers.
GHS and Regulatory Labeling Challenges in the New Era 
