What is FSPCA?
What is the FSPCA?
FSPCA stands for the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance. FSPCA is a public-private alliance consisting of industry, academic, and government stakeholders that was established to develop training and outreach programs to help companies comply with the FDA‘s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
The FSPCA:
- Developed the “standardized curriculum” recognized by FDA.
- Trains Lead Instructors who are then qualified to teach the course.
- Works with the Association of Food and Drug Officials, or AFDO, and the International Food Protection Institute (IFPTI) to administer certificates for those that complete the recognized course.
The general route to becoming qualified as a PCQI is to take the standardized training course taught by a “Preventive Controls Lead Instructor”. This is an instructor that has applied to FSPCA, been accepted, and completed the Lead Instructor training course. The Lead Instructors are able to register the class with AFDO and their students will receive an AFDO certificate if they successfully complete the class. This approach clearly meets the requirements defined in 117.180 (c)(1) of the preventive controls rule.
“To be a preventive controls qualified individual, the individual must have successfully completed training in the development and application of risk-based preventive controls at least equivalent to that received under a standardized curriculum recognized as adequate by FDA.”
Taking a course recognized by FDA provides the PCQI with a certificate that demonstrates they have met the training requirement, it is a clear a straightforward way to become qualified.
Registrar Corp’s online, self-paced PCQI and FSVP courses were developed by FSPCA Lead Instructors and the courses include the official FSPCA/AFDO training certificate of completion.