Federal Regulators to Present Perspectives on Third Party Audits at D.C. Conference

The Grocery Manufacturers Association, American National Standards Institute and other organizations are co-sponsoring a conference titled “Bolstering Consumer Confidence: Identifying Essential Third Party Food Safety Audit Criteria,” December 2-3, 2008, in Washington, D.C. Among the conference speakers is the administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), who will discuss “his agency’s perspective on third party audits and the issue of country equivalency.” Other sessions will address Food and Drug Administration requirements for a comprehensive third party audit, harmonizing the global food safety system, and World Trade Organization concerns about private standards and third-party certification.