In order to prevent and address the more the 48 million food borne illnesses
in the U.S., in 2011, President Obama signed into law the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). This bill is implements
a series of regulations that work toward preventing these diseases by requiring
more safety protocols among foreign producers.
The FDA said that this reform is the largest change to our food
safety laws in more than 70 years. These FSMA
regulations are good news for wholesale coffee producers and manufacturers and
will not only affect coffee, but all manufacturers worldwide that ship to the
U.S.”
A
partial summary per the FDA is as follows:
To minimize the risk of serious adverse
health consequences or death from consumption of contaminated produce, the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to establish science-based minimum
standards for the safe growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of produce,
meaning fruits and vegetables grown for human consumption. FDA is proposing
these standards as part of our implementation of the FDA Food Safety
Modernization Act (FSMA). www.fda.gov
Where
Can I Find Out More About the New Standards?
The FDA has published a Website to
explain the specific details of “foreign supplier verification program” (FSVP.com) proposed rule, which would help ensure
the safety of foods imported into the U.S. by making importers accountable for
verifying that the food they import is produced using processes and procedures
that achieve the same level of public health protection for imported food as
required of domestic growers and processors under FSMA's new standards for
produce safety and preventive controls. www.regulations.gov
What Does this Mean to the Coffee Industry?
According to “globalexchange.org” (also need a link to exact
page where you found this information), coffee is the world's second most
valuable traded commodity, behind only petroleum. There are approximately 25
million farmers and coffee workers in over 50 countries involved in producing
coffee around the world. This bill is
going to have a major impact on the quality of the coffee that we import. The
cost may rise on the commodities end, but the result will be a superior and
safe product for our consumers.
We at Woodshed
Roasting offer only Specialty Coffee from around the
world. This is the top 20% of the crop:
• We have Certified Fair Trade Coffee
• Certified Organic Coffee
• Bird Friendly Coffee
• Shade Grown Coffee
• Rain Forest Alliance Coffee
• Water Process Decaf Coffee
• A Variety of Custom Flavored Coffees.
We purchase the finest coffee available. Feel free to browse our further into our Website to learn more about our products and process.