NGFA continues FSMA regional seminars with three in Minnesota

WASHINGTON, March 24, 2016 — The NGFA will host a series of regional seminars in Minnesota next week to educate industry members on the far-reaching new feed safety rules being promulgated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

The three, full-day seminars, which take place in New Ulm, St. Cloud, and Rochester on March 29-31, respectively, are part of NGFA’s ongoing FSMA education and training efforts. The NGFA, in cooperation with state feed regulatory agencies and affiliated state and regional associations, has several more seminars scheduled in the coming weeks and will continue to add more seminars throughout the country.

NGFA Senior Vice President of Feed Services David Fairfield is leading these sessions with NGFA Feed Manufacturing and Technology Committee Chairman Matt Frederking, vice president of regulatory affairs and quality at Ralco Nutrition in Marshall, Minn.

More than 150 industry members attended the NGFA’s initial FSMA regional seminar conducted in Modesto, Calif., on March 10. That seminar was conducted in partnership with the California Grain and Feed Association and California Department of Food and Agriculture.

“We appreciate the great relationship we have with state feed regulatory agencies and our state and regional affiliated associations,” Fairfield said. “Their collaboration in co-hosting these seminars is instrumental in extending outreach for this important information to as wide a universe of the affected industry companies as possible.”

Fairfield noted that most members of the grain and feed industry are affected by FSMA, which will establish a new set of expectations across the supply chain.

The seminars, which build upon NGFA’s ongoing training and education programs for FSMA, will help industry members understand the changes, requirements and appropriate exemptions included in the FSMA rules. Each session will cover FSMA major rules and implementation, and the new requirements for current good manufacturing practices (CGMPs) and preventive controls for animal food. The seminars will focus on the animal food rule and corresponding affected facilities.

Seminars are scheduled by NGFA during March through early May at three locations in Minnesota, Spokane, Wash., and Wisconsin Dells, Wis., with additional sessions being planned as requests are being received.

• New Ulm, St. Cloud, and Rochester, Minn., on March 29-31: “The FDA’s New Animal Food Rule – How it Impacts You” (In cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the Minnesota Grain and Feed Association).  Register here.

New Ulm: Best Western Plus – March 29, 2016

St. Cloud: Holiday Inn – March 30, 2016

Rochester: Clarion Inn – March 31, 2016

Each session is scheduled for 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.; Cost is $20 per attendee; Refreshments and lunch will be provided

• Spokane, Wash., on April 22 (In cooperation with the Pacific Northwest Grain and Feed Association). Register here.

• Wisconsin Dells, Wis., on May 11 (In cooperation with the Wisconsin Agri-Business Association and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture).

The NGFA has in-depth analyses of FDA’s FSMA rules, as well as recorded webinars on the topic and ongoing education efforts. In addition, the 2015 Joint Feed/Pet Food Conference focused primarily on FSMA and FDA’s implementation of the law. For more information about NGFA’s educational resources on FSMA, click here.

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The NGFA, established in 1896, consists of more than 1,050 grain, feed, processing, exporting and other grain-related companies that operate more than 7,000 facilities and handle more than 70 percent of all U.S. grains and oilseeds. Its membership includes grain elevators; feed and feed ingredient manufacturers; biofuels companies; grain and oilseed processors and millers; exporters; livestock and poultry integrators; and associated firms that provide goods and services to the nation’s grain, feed and processing industry. The NGFA also consists of 26 affiliated State and Regional Grain and Feed Associations, and has strategic alliances with Pet Food Institute and North American Export Grain Association