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Guidance for Industry: Low-Acid Foods Packaged in Hermetically Sealed Containers (LACF) Regulation and the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act

FinalHuman Foods Program12/21/2021

Description

The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) (Pub. L. 111-353) enables the FDA to better protect public health by helping to ensure the safety and security of the food supply. It requires FDA to promulgate food safety rules that focus on preventing food safety issues rather than relying on detecting issues and reacting to them after they occur.

Scope & Applicability

Product Classes

2
LACF

Shorthand description for thermally processed low-acid foods packaged in hermetically sealed containers.

Low-Acid Foods Packaged in Hermetically Sealed Containers

Subject of the guidance document regarding LACF regulation and FSMA.; Primary product category covered by the guidance.

Stakeholders

3
Qualified Individual

Person qualified to prepare translations

Importers

persons affected by prior notice rules

Manufacturers

Responsible for declaring acceptable market names on labels.

Identified Hazards

Hazards

4
Allergen Cross-Contact

Chemical hazard that must be addressed in the food safety plan.

Microbiological Hazard

Hazards regulated under part 113 for LACF.

Intentional Adulteration

Risks addressed by food defense systems

Biological hazards

Includes microbiological hazards like parasites and pathogens; Hazards associated with covered produce requiring controls.; Risks such as foodborne illness outbreaks.

Related CFR Sections (1)

Related Warning Letters (10)

  • Seafood HACCP/CGMP for Foods/Adulterated/Insanitary Conditions

    Harbor Marine Product Inc.

    2025-12-16
  • CGMP/Food/Prepared, Packed or Held Under Insanitary Conditions/Adulterated/L. monocytogenes

    Compass Group USA

    2025-11-11
  • Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP)

    V & L Produce, Inc.

    2025-10-28
  • CGMP/Food/Prepared, Packed or Held Under Insanitary Conditions/Adulterated

    Gracie's Kitchens, Inc.

    2025-09-30
  • CGMP/Food/Prepared, Packed or Held Under Insanitary Conditions/Adulterated

    Hans Bakery Inc. d/b/a Andersen’s Bakery

    2025-09-30
  • CGMP/Food/Prepared, Packed or Held Under Insanitary Conditions/Adulterated

    Tan Nam Corporation

    2025-09-30
  • Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP)

    Jalisco Fresh Produce, Inc.

    2025-09-09
  • Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP)

    Eurobread Inc. dba First Harvest

    2025-08-26
  • Seafood HACCP/CGMP for Foods/Adulterated

    Chaohu Daxin Foodstuffs Co., Ltd.

    2025-08-19
  • Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP)

    A.D. Berries @ More LLC

    2025-07-15

See Also (8)