How to Get FSMA Regulations Compliance Quickly

Companies in the food and beverage industry are in for quite a change with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FMSA). Established in 2011, the FSMA has just finalized and published many more rules and the first FDA compliance audits begin this year.

FSMA’s Huge Impact On Food and Beverage Companies

Some companies are still using manual paper logs and stand-alone systems to collect this critical information today.  Being able to report, manage and comply with FSMA will require new processes and purchasing a comprehensive Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system will help provide automation and efficiencies to the entire process.

Our At-A-Glance guide can assist food and beverage manufacturers understand FMSA and compliance requirements. You will get a lot of answers around why companies are turning to ERP solutions like Sage X3 to achieve compliance.

Top 3 FSMA provisions

1. Preventive Controls.  FDA-mandated safety systems and measures (preventive controls) standards and proof is now required of Food and beverage manufacturers, regardless if prior violations have been reported or not.  Providing documentation related to manufacturing processes, systems, shipping, testing and auditing is what is considered proof.  
2. Foreign supplier verification program.  Imported product require even more extensive documentation to comply with FSMA. Under the new Foreign Supplier Verification Program Proposed Rule (FSVP) increased oversight in quality and safety is mandated including, safety checks, documentation and verification that foreign suppliers are themselves conducting hazard analysis and other safety checks.
3. Trace-ability and Transparency.   Trace-ability is may be one of the most challenging elements of the FSMA new requirements.  This will mean a significant investment in tracking and documenting supply chains for most companies.

FSMA affects all food and beverage companies, although compliance deadlines may be different based on company size. Please see the NexTec guide for highlights of some of these differences.

Explore the Sage X3 solution!

Safety data also requires transparency for FSMA compliance at every stage of the food production cycle, from farming to distribution. Sage X3 robust functionality and reporting helps you collect that data and produce easily readable reports. It handles data for tracking, traceability, and even business intelligence, giving you much greater control over not just safety but your own business processes.

Sage X3 is a product of The Sage Group, which specializes in business management software for small and medium-sized organizations. Sage X3 provides a powerful, highly customizable business software solution — including industry-leading mobile options for companies with a distributed workforce. As a Sage partner, NexTec helps companies, install, configure and customize ERP software.

Contact us and find out how your company can use Sage X3 to ensure FMSA compliance.

Another version of this blog was previously posted by Chris Williamson on March 16, 2016. Achieving faster compliance with FSMA regulations

Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net by ponsula