By: Steven Harris, Director, Policy Development and Regulatory Compliance, Food Marketing Institute
Issues related to government relations and public policy are often misunderstood and misclassified, especially when it comes to running a business. Regardless of your view of the role of government, understanding legislative and regulatory affairs should be an integral part of your business operations to ensure that your company is compliant and can remain competitive. FMI plays an important role on behalf of the industry to educate lawmakers and policymakers about the impact of certain policies on the operations of your business. We also develop compliance tools and alerts for you and your team, but your company must also play an active role in providing first-hand examples and stories regarding the challenges you face as well as helping us prioritize our work on issues.
We recently hosted our annual Day in Washington fly-in on Capitol Hill, which brought almost 250 grocers to our nation’s capital and provided a chance for them to meet with their lawmakers in Congress. We understand that not everyone can make the trip to Washington while running a business, but it is still critical that you keep up to date on the legislative and regulatory actions that could impact your business.
Does complying with FDA’s menu labeling regulation keep you up at night? Are you committed to food safety, but you’re overwhelmed by the complexity of the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act? Having trouble remembering all of the Affordable Care Act deadlines and recordkeeping requirements? FMI can help you feel more comfortable with understanding the requirements and details of the many new laws and regulations that touch the supermarket industry in one way or another. FMI publishes a weekly “GR Report” newsletter for its members to provide a summary of the past week’s policy actions unique to the supermarket industry. Sign-up now to start receiving FMI’s weekly GR Report newsletter and visit our webpage to learn about our policy related publications including our state report and more. While you’re at it, follow @FMI_GR on Twitter.
Not an FMI member yet? Please contact FMI’s membership department to learn more about becoming a member and its benefits.
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