AFIA Resources on FSMA
To better assist its membership in meeting the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the American Feed Industry Association and its public charity, the Institute for Feed Education and Research (IFEEDER), have dedicated a number of resources – both in terms of funding and staff time – to developing a number of communications and training materials. In addition, the association has conducted several in-person and webinar trainings with members.
AFIA has also developed a video training resource for employees looking to be trained by their facilities as qualified individuals (QIs). FSMA’s animal food rule requires that companies provide QIs with training on the principles of animal food hygiene and safety, including the importance of employee health and personal hygiene, as it applies to their duties. A QI is defined in the rule as any person who “has the education, training or experience necessary to manufacture, process, pack or hold safe animal food as appropriate to the individual’s assigned duties.” In essence, any person who works at an animal food manufacturing facility will meet this requirement and will need training. This is available to non-members to purchase on a USB drive for $500, or for members to purchase for $25 or view it online for free in our member’s only section of the website.
In addition, members may also find a sample animal food safety plan and templates on the member website.
In cooperation with IFEEDER, AFIA also co-funded a year-long research project with the University of Minnesota to complete a scientific literature review to assist manufacturing facilities with the creation of their site-specific animal food hazard analysis, one of FSMA’s key components. Over 4,000 scientific articles were reviewed for this project, and the outcome showed that a majority of feed manufacturing risks, with the exception of microbial risks, can be managed by implementing CGMPs. The tool has saved firms thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of employees’ time, significantly reducing the number of new protocols that they must make to comply with FSMA.
As a member benefit, AFIA members can login to the member website to access these tools for free. Visit the Join webpage for information about becoming an AFIA member.