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FDA Food Facility Registration: Dairy Food Processors

Mar 26, 2021

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By Kerry E. Kaylegian

To protect the U.S. public from an attack on the food supply, the FDA passed the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (the Bioterrorism Act). This requires food processors that manufacture, process, pack or hold food to register their facilities with the FDA. The purpose of registration is to allow the FDA to be able to locate and contact food processors that may be affected in case of a potential bioterrorism incident or a foodborne illness outbreak.

Dairy food processors are subject to these regulations, and the list of all foods that that are covered under this regulation can be found on the Penn State Extension website and the FDA website. The FDA website has several guidance documents and FAQs to assist you in this process.

Some dairy processors may be exempt from registering their facility, especially if their primary sales outlet is directly to consumers, such as at a farmers market or your own farm stand. To find out if you qualify for this exemption, see the guidance document and flow chart on the FDA website on exemptions for small-scale processors and retail establishments.

There is no fee to register your facility. Registration is done online at the FDA website for Registration of Food Facilities.

Source : psu.edu

Video: Alberta Honey: A Day at Molenkamp Honey Farms

When was the last time you read the label on your honey?

We spent a day at Molenkamp Honey Farms with Michael Molenkamp, who has been keeping bees for 17 seasons and runs three to four thousand hives. In mid-September, he was finishing treatments and getting his bees ready for winter, and he walked us through how Alberta honey gets made.

Alberta has just 150 commercial beekeepers running 300,000 colonies, and together they produce 40% of Canada’s honey. Long summer days and golden canola fields give Alberta honey a light flavour that’s hard to match anywhere else.

Molenkamp calls Alberta beekeepers some of the most resilient farmers he knows. There’s plenty of Alberta honey to go around, but a lot on our shelves isn’t from here, so his ask is simple. Give the label a second look and choose honey made by Alberta beekeepers, or buy straight from a beekeeper near you.