"The part of our pitch that we think really resonates is many food companies are very happy with the systems they use today, and we do not want them to have to uproot those systems. So, when we talk about Starfish, our pitch is BYOS — bring your own system — and we will help you bring it to compliance,” Wiggs Civitillo, CEO and founder at Starfish, told FoodNavigator-USA.
Data inconsistency is creating a barrier to FSMA 204 compliancy
Launched earlier this month, Starfish provides companies with software that gathers traceability data from different sources — including from farms to manufacturers and manufacturers to retailers — and reports the data back to CPG companies in a uniform way, Civitillo explained. CPG companies can use Starfish’s capabilities through an application programming interface that feeds into their current reporting system or through iFrame dashboards, he added.
Venture capitalists Branded Hospitality Ventures and Waterpoint Lane already invested an undisclosed amount of money in the company, which is raising a pre-seed round before the end of the year, Civitillo said.
Starfish’s software helps companies comply with the Food Safety Modernization Act section 204, which requires companies to keep traceability records that could assist in speedier recalls. Between 500,000 and a million companies can be impacted by this regulation, Civitillo noted.
Foods that require traceability records include cheeses, shell eggs, nut butters, cucumbers, herbs, leafy greens (fresh and cut), melons, peppers, sprouts, tropical tree fruits, tomatoes, fruits, vegetables other than leafy greens, finfishes, smoked finfishes, molluscan crustaceans, shellfish and ready-to-eat deli salads, according to FDA. Companies have until Jan. 20, 2026, to comply with this section of the FSMA.
Starfish says its technology can help CPG companies more accurately report on environmental, social and governance metrics, Civitillo noted.
"There are auxiliary benefits from the foundation that we are building to the sustainability space, especially with ESG, where these connectors to suppliers can allow for the scalable flow of documents [and] certificates that are necessary for documentation of audits, inspections and best practices,” he elaborated.
Will FSMA 204 survive a Trump Administration?
With the clock ticking on FSMA compliance, the incoming Trump Administration is planning cuts to FDA and to roll back regulations.
During the first Trump Administration, FDA pulled back enforcement, issuing only 1,033 warning letters between the inauguration and May 22, 2019, compared to 1,532 letters during the equivalent period from the Obama Administration, according to Science reporting.
However, Civitillo is optimistic that the FSMA 204 regulation will stay in place despite lobbyist calls for a ruling delay, as the regulation came from a bipartisan effort.
FSMA passed in December 2010 with bipartisan support, and Congress directed FDA to create the food traceability rule. The Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response at FDA under the Trump and Biden administrations, Frank Yiannas, helped develop the final rule on Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods, issued in 2023. Yiannas serves as an advisor to Starfish.
“Everyone wants safe food. Generally speaking, it is a topic that everyone can agree upon. It is a bipartisan topic that has bipartisan support. Now, thinking about the history of this legislation, we have actually seen it evolve through multiple administrations,” Civitillo noted.
