NACS Seeks Retailer Input for New FDA Traceability Compliance Guide

A new compliance guide will help retailers comply with the final rule.

December 18, 2024

NACS is seeking input from convenience retailers to help shape a new resource being developed for the industry—a step-by-step retailer compliance guide for the FDA’s food traceability rule, set to take effect 2026. 

The Food and Drug Administration’s food traceability rule establishes new recordkeeping requirements for people who manufacture, process, pack or hold foods included on the FDA’s Food Traceability List, including convenience retailers. Many retailers have raised concerns about the feasibility and workability of the rule. This compliance guide is intended to be as responsive as possible to convenience industry operational concerns. 

NACS has created a short survey to gather basic information about retailer store operations and traceability practices. This feedback will help shape the guide to reflect the real-world needs of NACS members and to help them stay compliant with the new requirements. 

Take the survey here

“Our goal is to create a traceability guide that works for convenience retailers—not just another set of complicated instructions from a regulatory agency,” said Margaret Hardin Mannion, manager of government relations at NACS. “To do that, we need to hear from the people on the ground who will be using it.” 

The survey will remain open until January 31, 2025. For more information or questions about the project, please contact Margaret Hardin Mannion at mmannion@convenience.org

To learn more about traceability, read the November 2024 NACS Magazine feature “Traceability: What You Don’t Know Could Hurt You.” 

The traceability rule will also be a topic of discussion at the upcoming NACS Food Safety Forum, taking place April 8 in Dallas. Registration is open at convenience.org/FSF.