Understanding the Food Safety Modernization Act and the role of quality practitioners in the management of food safety and quality systems

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the key requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), recently passed by the US Congress to safeguard the nation's food supply, and to ascertain the role of quality professionals in the management of food safety and quality systems for food facilities. Design/methodology/approach – Since genesis of the Act emanates mainly from the recent upsurge in food disease outbreaks in North America, key lessons learnt from the 2008 Listeriosis outbreak in Canada were reviewed. Thereafter, a case study of developing a food safety and quality management system for a “very low risk facility” – i.e. a third party warehouse – was considered. Finally, potential connections between the sections of the FSMA and roles of various quality practitioners were discussed. Findings – Recent study at the third party logistics warehouse revealed developing and implementing pre‐requisite programs (PRPs), i.e. mainly operational and physical controls, had a positive impact on the food safety and quality management system (FSQMS). Hence, quality practitioners may focus on PRPs to enhance compliance to FSMA requirements. Practical implications – Food production, processing, packaging and/or distribution companies that export their products to the USA, as well as enterprises requiring preventive controls to ensure food safety and quality, can greatly benefit from the services of quality practitioners. Other key inputs the practitioners provide to the FSQMS include costs reduction, value addition, defects prevention, process control, maintenance and improvement. Originality/value – The paper closely studies quality practitioners’ perspectives towards meeting or even exceeding the new food safety regulatory expectations in food‐related institutions.