OFW’s Food & Agriculture team regularly monitors announcements and policy issuances from FDA, USDA, and other agencies to keep our clients apprised of regulatory developments that may impact their business. Here are a few of the significant developments from July. If you have any questions or would like more information, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- On July 14, 2025, FDA announced it is extending the public comment period, in response to stakeholder feedback, by 30 days—until August 18, 2025—for its proposed guidance titled “Proposed Method for Ranking Chemicals in Food for Post-market Assessments.”
- On July 16, 2025, FDA announced it is revoking and proposing to revoke 52 food Standards of Identity (SOIs) considered obsolete and unnecessary, either because the products are not sold in the U.S. or the standards no longer support consumer protection. This includes a direct final rule for 11 products not sold, and proposed rules to revoke SOIs for 18 dairy products and 23 other foods
- On July 28, 2025, FDA announced that, effective August 4, 2025, the agency is launching the Nationalized Entry Review Program (NER); a new way to improve how imports are checked. Instead of reviewing shipments at each port separately, this program uses a nationwide system with staff working across different time zones. As NER is based on a successful 2022 pilot program that resulted in 70% faster processing times and identified 36% more high-risk products for further testing, this change may result in more stops at the border and increased enforcement.
- On July 30, 2025, FDA released the Expanded Decision Tree (EDT) Chemical Toxicity and Risk Screening Tool, which screens food chemicals and ingredients by their structure to help determine safety. The EDT modernizes the original Cramer Decision Tree for food safety evaluations.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- On July 14, 2025, Dr. Justin Ransom became FSIS Administrator, bringing over 20 years of experience in food safety and quality systems. Along with Dr. Ransom’s new role, there have been other changes to FSIS leadership (here).
- On July 15, 2025, USDA launched a new plan to improve meat and poultry food safety by increasing microbiological testing, in-person inspections, and inspector training. The agency is also withdrawing a prior Salmonella regulation proposal for more stakeholder input, enhancing state partnerships, and heightening enforcement to address recurring compliance issues.
- On July 24, 2025, Secretary Rollins announced plans for the reorganization of USDA, planning to decentralize employees from Washington, D.C. by moving many to five regional hubs and reducing the number of USDA office buildings and research facilities. Details were discussed further in Senate testimony on July 30, 2025.
Other
- On July 28, 2025, President Trump announced that a trade deal was been reached between the U.S. and EU, referred to as the “Cooperation Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair and Balanced Trade.” A White House Fact Sheet provides the “framework” of the deal. The EU similarly published an FAQ, “EU-US trade deal explained.” Both documents have differing terms, indicating the U.S. and EU have yet to finalize the agreement.
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Please contact Kyla Kaplan ([email protected]) if you have any questions or are interested in additional assistance.
