FDA Human Foods Program
FDA Announces Availability of Industry Training on the Food Traceability Rule
View on the FDA Website
May 21, 2026
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in partnership with the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance (FSPCA), have launched a new training curriculum on the Food Traceability Rule (FTR). The course, titled “FSPCA FTR Training for the Food Industry,” is a core, industry-oriented training that provides participants with the foundational knowledge that is needed to understand and comply with the Food Traceability Rule. Registration for participant courses is now available on the FSPCA website along with information for prospective Lead Instructor candidates.
The course content is focused on providing the participant with an understanding of FTR recordkeeping requirements, how to recognize the requirements applicable to them based on the supply chain activities they perform, how traceability data are transmitted through the supply chain, and what is required in a Traceability Plan. The training also covers how companies may approach establishing food traceability programs and procedures, including supply chain and data considerations.
The FTR curriculum was designed by regulatory, academia, and industry professionals and developed with funding from FDA. FSPCA is a broad-based public-private alliance of industry, academia, and government stakeholders that has been an important collaborator in developing and delivering training for other FDA rules under the Food Safety Modernization Act.
The FTR establishes traceability recordkeeping requirements, beyond those in existing regulations, for persons who manufacture, process, pack, or hold foods included on the Food Traceability List. The final rule requires such entities to maintain records containing information on critical tracking events in the supply chain for these designated foods, such as initial packing, shipping, receiving, and transforming these foods. The requirements established in the final rule will help FDA rapidly and effectively identify recipients of these foods to prevent or mitigate foodborne illness outbreaks and address credible threats of serious adverse health consequences or death. While training is not a requirement of the FTR, it can help industry better understand their obligations under the rule.
Next month, the FDA will be hosting a public meeting to give stakeholders an opportunity to share information on FTR implementation and areas of remaining concern, specifically as they relate to lot-level tracking and flexibilities for compliance. The FDA and FSPCA will consider information gleaned from this and other stakeholder meetings when making any future updates to this training program. Additionally, information on the public meeting can be found here.
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