A big win for produce: Congress backs IFPA push

When Congress passed the bill to end the federal government shutdown, most headlines focused on reopening agencies and restoring federal services. But for the fresh produce industry, the legislation also highlighted a growing recognition in Washington that parts of FSMA 204 need a more practical, operationally realistic path forward. That shift is no accident. It reflects months of detailed advocacy and formal regulatory filings led by the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) BB #:378962, including specific requests for rescission and revision now under consideration in the Regulations.gov docket for FSMA 204.  

While this is a positive development, we are disappointed with the multiyear delay. Many fresh produce companies have already made substantial investments in compliance tools, labeling systems, software integrations, and workforce training to prepare for the original 2026 deadline. Pushing back the enforcement date creates uncertainty and unpredictability and is most punitive for those seeking to be in compliance on time. The industry needs flexibility, but it also needs clarity and a stable science-based framework it can confidently build toward.  

Traceability matters across the entire supply chain, and the value of upstream investments depends on a system that remains intact all the way through distribution and retail. That’s why the delay is so concerning: the majority of growers, packers, and shippers have done their part, but unless traceability can be executed reliably at the last mile, the entire chain breaks and the industry’s early investments lose their purpose.  

The problem is not a lack of commitment. Fresh produce companies have shown they are willing to invest in technology, data standards, and compliance with complex regulations. The problem is that FSMA 204, as written, assumes a level of traceability that simply does not exist in high-volume produce distribution centers and the majority of growers.   

Nearly every carton is picked by human hands, not a robot or automated system designed to capture traceability data. Labels vary widely; some cases have no scannable traceability lot code (TLC) at all, and TLCs aren’t unique to each case. The only way to meet the rule as interpreted today would be to require a person to stop and scan every one of many thousands of boxes being shipped during every shift, slowing down operations, reducing throughput, and adding more than 8 million labor hours and $250 million in new labor costs annually.  

Even with this burden, the data would still be unreliable (due to an unavoidable human error), and many smaller operators would not survive the transition. These realities are documented in the industry’s formal rescission request now under the FSMA 204 docket (AHRQ-2025-0001) by IFPA.  

While many have advocated for lot-level flexibility, what sets this industry response apart is that IFPA and its partners have not merely identified the problem; we have developed the solution.  

In early 2024, we proposed a warehouse management system (WMS)-based alternative that uses data already captured at receiving (pallet-level TLCs, license plate numbers, pallet movements, and directed picking) to calculate the likely TLCs shipped to each customer. This method calculates the TLCs that are required for the sortable spreadsheets required under FSMA 204, and it strengthens traceback accuracy and eliminates the need for case-level scanning.  

It also aligns with Section 1.1340 of the Final Rule, which requires shippers to maintain and share TLCs but does not prescribe scanning as the method of capture. In short, the systems can already do the job if the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows them to.  

The entire system wins when traceability is complete. Growers and shippers see their upstream investments pay off. Distributors, retailers, and foodservice operators gain a feasible compliance pathway. Consumers and public health benefit from faster, more accurate traceback. And the FDA receives the data it needs without placing impossible demands on the segment of the supply chain that’s least able to deliver it manually.  

The shutdown-ending bill, H.R. 5371, has brought renewed attention to these challenges and the practical alternatives the industry has developed. The bill pauses enforcement of FSMA 204 until 2028 and directs the FDA to work directly with industry on developing operationally sound approaches for achieving lot-level traceability.  

It requires the FDA to meet quarterly with farms, distributors, retailers, restaurants, and warehouses; issue recommendations within 180 days for additional flexibilities; and conduct hypothetical data-intake exercises to evaluate traceability systems under real-world conditions. These requirements mirror the very solutions IFPA has advanced and reflect a broader acknowledgment that the rule, as currently interpreted, cannot be implemented as written.  

The shutdown-ending bill also revived attention to another key challenge documented in IFPA’s filing: the newly introduced TLC Source Key Data Element. This requirement was never tested in FDA pilots, and its cost implications were never analyzed. Integrating it across thousands of diverse operations, from large DCs to small terminal markets, would require sweeping system changes that many companies simply cannot absorb. As a result, IFPA is urging the FDA to reconsider the necessity of this Key Data Element, conduct pilots, verify its net public health value, and provide targeted relief where the burden far outweighs any practical benefit.  

The renewed policy attention triggered by the shutdown-ending bill underscores a simple truth: the produce industry has been diligent, detailed, and proactive in identifying workable solutions and IFPA has led the development of an approach that preserves strong traceback capability while avoiding operational disruption. Now, with FSMA 204 under fresh examination, Washington appears to be taking this work seriously.  

As the process continues, IFPA will keep convening industry working groups, advancing technical pilots, and working closely with regulators to ensure that any flexibilities developed under H.R. 5371 strengthen, not weaken or overburden, the nation’s traceability system. The debate around the shutdown may have brought the issue back into the spotlight, but the expertise, the innovation, and the path forward come from the produce industry itself.