(T/F) With FSMA, FDA can rely on third parties to certify foreign food facilities meet US requirements.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Not sure
• D. Only for approved facilities

Answer: (A)

Under FSMA, there is a built-in pathway for the FDA to rely on independent third-party auditors to verify that foreign food facilities meet U.S. safety requirements. This framework works by having accreditation bodies recognized by the FDA certify qualified third-party auditors (certification bodies). Those auditors then conduct facility inspections against established U.S. standards and issue certificates if the facility complies. When such a certificate is obtained from a recognized third-party auditor, it can support compliance with FSMA obligations—such as supplier verification for importers—without requiring FDA to inspect every facility directly.

This approach is not universal for every facility or every type of food; it depends on eligibility, the facility being assessed by an FDA-recognized certifier, and the certifier applying approved audit standards. But the key idea is that FSMA authorizes and facilitates FDA reliance on third-party certification to determine that foreign facilities meet U.S. requirements.