National Food Safety Modernization Secretariat (FSMS)

ROLE & FUNCTIONS

The National Food Safety Modernization Secretariat is the Focal Point for the coordination of activities in support of Jamaica’s preparedness for the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) inspections, to ensure that local facilities are in compliance with the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and regulations.

The NFSMS, established in September 2011:

• Identifies funding for strengthening of Jamaica’s food safety systems

• Provides support to enhance the capacity of regulatory agencies in providing guidance to manufacturers and exporters shipping fresh produce and processed foods to overseas markets

• Provides industry with information aimed at increasing their knowledge and understanding of the FSMA and the Safe Food for Canadians Act (SFCA)

• Coordinates the national process of participating in rulemaking activities of the USFDA and other foreign food regulators

• Facilitates/Coordinates inspections of local food facilities by FDA inspectors;

• Facilitates the communication of issues/concerns regarding FSMA/SFCA implementation from Jamaican food facilities to the USFDA and the CFIA

• Supervises the conduct of the Better Process Control School (BPCS) on behalf of the USFDA.

In fulfilling our responsibilities, the FSMS has, inter alia:

• Coordinated the training (by the FDA) of over 60 food safety inspectors from  various local companies

• Coordinated three (3) visits of FDA officials from the FDA Latin America Regional Office, which included presentations on FSMA to over 200 stakeholders and official visits to some facilities

• Facilitated the knowledge transfer of FSMA information to stakeholders through numerous webinars, primarily through collaboration with the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture (IICA)

• Submitted comments on the major proposed FSMA rules during the process of development

• Facilitated over fifty (50) inspections of local food facilities by the FDA. Inspectors of the BSJ ‘shadowed’ the FDA during the inspections of eighteen (18) processed food facilities

• Identified and sourced funding of over US$125,000.00 (from the Caribbean Development Bank and the International Trade Centre) for 2 Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system ‘Train-the-Trainer’ projects benefitting 23 companies.

• Supervised 4 BPCS courses by the Chemistry Department of the University of the West Indies. Over 120 participants successfully completed the USFDA approved training

• Liaises on a regular basis with the FDA in resolving challenges faced by the Jamaican food industry.

For more information on the Food Safety Modernization Act, please visit: https://www.fda.gov/food/guidanceregulation/fsma/