WASHINGTON — The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) intends to extend the compliance deadline for the food traceability rule in Section 204(d) of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

The original compliance date was to be Jan. 15, 2026. In its constituent update March 20, the FDA confirmed that the intention to extend the deadline by 30 months does not include intention to amend any requirements of FSMA 204’s final food traceability rule.

The purpose of the extension is to give all parts of the supply chain enough time to implement the requirements fully, the FDA said.

“The final rule requires a higher degree of coordination between members of the food industry than has been required in the past,” the FDA said. “Therefore, to achieve the full public health benefits of the final rule, all covered entities must be in compliance. Even those few entities who are well positioned to meet the final rule’s requirements by January 2026 have expressed concern about the timeline, in part because of their reliance on receiving accurate data from their supply chain partners, who are not similarly situated.”

The FDA said it intends to use the extra time to work with stakeholders on solutions to current traceability challenges and to provide technical assistance, tools and other resources to assist the food industry with implementation.

Randy Fields, CEO of ReposiTrak, released a statement praising the FDA for the decision on March 21.

“For the last two years, ReposiTrak has been anticipating and encouraging the FDA to push back the compliance deadline for FSMA Section 204 in the interest of the industry,” Fields said. “Traceability requires not just data, but good data. Because traceability is complex, and the biggest supply chain collaboration in the history of the food industry, every trading partner needs to learn how to collect, analyze, manage and share that quality data so that the next participant in the supply chain doesn’t have a garbage-in-garbage-out problem.”

The technical director for IFT's Global Food Traceability Center, Blake Harris, said people in the department were disappointed by the 30-month delay, but acknowledged that the regulation involving such a wide scope came with complexities. Harris said public health should remain a top priority.

“The persistence of foodborne illness and recalls underscores the need for food industry stakeholders to invest in traceability and advance their efforts quickly, regardless of regulatory timelines,” Harris said. “Moreover, as many global regulations and initiatives continue to prioritize traceability as a foundational element, it is critical for the food industry to stay aligned with these global efforts to meet both regulatory and consumer demands. We encourage food industry stakeholders to use this time to collaborate across the food system and adopt best practices that strengthen traceability.”

Harris noted that IFT’s Global Food Traceability Center offers resources at no cost via its website.