AFFI Launches Food Safety Self-assessment Program

The American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) has introduced the “FSMA Readiness Self-Assessment Program,” an online service to help frozen food facilities comply with the new Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) preventive controls proposed rule issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The program was created with the Seneca Corp., a Vienna, Va.-based provider of business process management solutions, with input from AFFI member companies.

The comprehensive, easy-to-use self-assessment tool assigns facilities readiness scores in 11 distinct operational categories and shows where action may be needed to ensure compliance with FSMA’s proposed rule governing preventive controls.

Once completed, each facility’s self-assessment report is made immediately available to the facility’s authorized representative. The report details any shortcomings and provides links to specialized service providers that can help the facility correct such shortcomings. The self-assessment questionnaire can be completed an unlimited number of times over the three-month period following its initialization, so as to give facilities enough time to correct any identified shortcomings.

“Food safety is the highest priority of the frozen food industry,” said Kraig R. Naasz, president and CEO of McLean, Va.-based AFFI. “This new tool has been designed to assist frozen food facilities in their quest to comply with the complex new requirements created by FSMA, which represents the first major overhaul of U.S. food safety laws in nearly 70 years.”

The tool costs $45 per facility for AFFI members, and $395 per facility for non-members. For more information, contact AFFI VP of Regulatory and Technical Affairs Donna Garren at [email protected].