NEW YORK — The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), coordinator of the U.S. voluntary standardization system, has accredited the Perry Johnson Registrars Food Safety, Inc., the first ANSI-accredited certification body (CB) recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act, or FSMA. Under the FDA recognition, accreditation bodies—including ANSI—have the credentials to assess the competence of food safety certification bodies in accordance with international standard, ISO/IEC 17065, Conformity assessment – Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes, and services; and pertinent certification scheme requirements and FDA regulations.
The Food Safety Modernization Act empowers the FDA to take proactive steps to prevent the sale, distribution, and consumption of tainted food products by recognizing accreditation bodies such as ANSI to assess the competence of food safety audits, according to ISO/IEC 17065 and FDA regulations. The goal is to create a food safety system that supports the prevention of contamination—rather than reacting to contagions that have already occurred.
Perry Johnson Registrars Food Safety, Inc. provides third party product/process and quality, and environmental management system audit services.
"This milestone is a significant step in ensuring that food safety practices meet essential requirements throughout the supply chain," said Lane Hallenbeck, ANSI's vice president of accreditation services. "Under FDA recognition, ANSI is pleased to accredit Perry Johnson Registrars Food Safety, Inc., and looks forward to additional opportunities to accredit CBs working in the critically important areas of food safety and sustainability."
Read more about the scope of ANSI's recognition by the FDA:
ANSI Recognized by FDA as Accreditation Body under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)
In addition to FDA recognition, ANSI accreditation supports those seeking FSMA compliance for the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP). This requires importers to verify that the food they import meets U.S. safety standards – and the Voluntary Qualified Importer Program (VQIP), a fee-based program that will allow for expedited review and importation for those who achieve and maintain a safe and secure supply chain.
About ANSI Accreditation for Food Safety
Currently, ANSI has 34 accredited product certification bodies among its food safety accreditations. Through its product certification accreditation programs, ANSI accredits certification bodies that operate a number of certification schemes dedicated to assure food safety are in accordance with ISO/IEC 17065, General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems.
From the personnel credentialing perspective, laws in California, Illinois, Arizona, West Virginia, Texas, and New Mexico, as well as some local jurisdictions, require food handlers within their limits to have a food-handling training certificate from an ANSI accredited certificate program, demonstrating compliance with ASTM E2659, Standard Practice for Certificate Programs, an American National Standard (ANS).
Read more about ANSI Accreditation for Food Safety, and watch a brief video to learn how ANSI accreditation provides food safety assurance.
For more information, contact Reinaldo Figueiredo, Senior Program Director, Product/Process/Services Accreditation Programs (RFigueir@ansi.org), or visit ANSI's accreditation website.
About ANSI
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents and serves the diverse interests of more than 270,000 companies and organizations and 30 million professionals worldwide. ANSI is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). For more information, visit www.ansi.org.
Source: The American National Standards Institute