Food Safety Diagnostic Testing Goes on During Shutdown, But Related Activities Affected, According to Kalorama Information
New York, NY (PRWEB) October 11, 2013 -- The current government shutdown has unexpectedly brought food safety to the fore once again in the United States, according to Kalorama Information. The healthcare market research firm said that last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued an alert (link: http://1.usa.gov/19ptPNG) for Salmonella in Foster Farms chicken. Kalorama notes that poultry and poultry product testing are exempt from the shutdown, but in event situations, some related activities are affected. The firm covered the testing industry in its report earlier this year, “Food Safety Diagnostics, The World Market.”
“The critical nature of food safety – both of domestic and imported foods – is underscored by the FSIS’s uninterrupted testing and inspection activities through the shutdown,” said Emil Salazar, analyst for Kalorama Information. “The logistical completion of recalls and communication of food safety events, however, remain impaired during the current federal episode.”
Kalorama notes that previous U.S. Salmonella outbreaks – in peanuts, pistachios and associated food products - precipitated the passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The firm estimates that over 700 products in all were recalled in 2009; subsequent annual recalls were much lower for domestic products, but nonetheless rose each year following 2010.
The report notes that FSMA has been hailed as a much-needed overhaul redirecting regulatory requirements towards science-based benchmarks verifiable through technology now available to industry. But analyst Salazar thinks the greatest industry change to be realized through the FSMA will be the standardization and wider implementation of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems. Such systems, when applied in the food industry, incorporate various diagnostic testing procedures to validate operational safeguards and verify resultant food safety.
The report notes that challenges to the FSMA on the part of small food producers and some state food safety agencies have delayed implementation. Inactivity or delay on the policy front by the current administration has also stalled enforcement of FSMA provisions. Nonetheless, the FSMA and similarly-minded legislation abroad are expected to increase demand for food safety diagnostics in coming years. Regulation and other drivers continue to attract the interest of many IVD companies to this applied diagnostics market.
More information regarding U.S. and global food safety diagnostics market trends can be found in Kalorama’s report “Food Safety Diagnostics, The World Market” at: http://www.kaloramainformation.com/Food-Safety-Diagnostics-7326556/.
About Kalorama Information
Kalorama Information, a division of MarketResearch.com, supplies the latest in independent medical market research in diagnostics, biotech, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and healthcare; as well as a full range of custom research services. We routinely assist the media with healthcare topics. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and our blog.
Bruce Carlson, Kalorama Information, http://www.kaloramainformation.com/Food-Safety-Diagnostics-7326556/, (212) 807-2622, [email protected]
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