If you have a letter of guarantee and a program for verification, is there a requirement for yearly updating?(7-04)

If an establishment is basing decisions made in the hazard analysis on a prerequisite program, or a program for verification, it should be able to support that the supplier is continuing to meet the specifications or guarantees in the letter. Adequate documentation would provide information to the receiving establishment concerning the control of pathogens at the supplying establishment on an ongoing basis during the year, which likely would be more than once per year.

The “Compliance Guidelines for Establishments on the FSIS Microbiological Testing Program and other Verification Activities for Escherichia coli O157:H7” contains information regarding purchase specifications and letters of guarantee and may be found at the following link: www.fsis.gov/OPPDE/rdad/fsisdirectives/10010_1/ecoli157h7dirguid4-13-04.pdf

Return to Roundtable Topics