EPI Labelers recently returned from Pack Expo 2015. This year’s event was the 20th anniversary and broke attendance records with 29,000 attendees, a 4 percent increase over 2014.
The event consisted of free seminars throughout the show floor and was packed with attendees. One of the popular topics at the event was the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). This is the biggest reform of food safety laws in more than 70 years and was signed into law on January 4, 2011. On September 10, 2015 the preventive controls final rules were announced, with many businesses compliance dates beginning in September 2016.
While at Pack Expo we got to catch up with Bosch Packaging, a partner of ours. They told attendees that it is important to select equipment with hygienic designs to meet the new FSMA standards. FSMA’s new regulatory and enforcement powers nearly affect every link in the food supply chain and are important for packaging companies to be ready to battle against the food contamination issues.
Food and beverage brand owners have very little time left to get their operations in compliance with the new FSMA regulations. The first set of rules took effect August 30, 2015, with compliance required in 1-3 years based on one’s business.
We were happy to be a part of Pack Expo where we could talk, inspire others in our industry and learn more about future growth with other plant-level managers, engineers, brand managers and packaging designers! We look forward to seeing what next year’s event brings.
Labeling & Coding News is the online industry insider from ID Technology, EPI , Panther, Greydon, and Code Tech Labeling & Coding product brands of ProMach.
