U.S. federal agency finalizes rules to prevent foodborne illness

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday finalized two rules that require human and animal food facilities to identify and prevent possible safety problems, calling it "one of the most significant steps in decades to prevent foodborne illness."

The rules are the first two of seven proposed to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which was signed into law in 2011. The FSMA aims to ensure the U.S. food supply is safe by shifting the focus from responding to contamination to preventing it.

Under the two rules finalized, both human and animal food facilities are required to develop and implement upfront written food safety plans that indicate possible safety problems and outline steps to prevent or significantly minimize the likelihood of those problems occurring.

"This means that food companies will be accountable for monitoring their facilities and identifying any potential hazards in their products and prevent those hazards," the FDA said in a statement. "Under these rules, the FDA will be able to assess these systems and their outcomes to prevent problems, will better be able to respond when food safety problems occur, and better protect the safety of manufactured food."

The additional rules, including one that would enhance FDA oversight of imported foods, are expected to be finalized in 2016.

Currently, 15 percent of U.S. food supply is imported from other countries, including 80 percent of seafood, nearly 50 percent of fresh fruit, and 20 percent of fresh vegetables.

An estimated 48 million people, or one in six Americans, get sick each year from foodborne diseases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That leads to about 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths every year. Endit