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 developments from August that we took note of. 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 August 10, 2022, the FDA made available its annual Pesticide Residue Monitoring Program Report for FY2020 (the Report). The report provides a summary of the findings from the pesticide residue monitoring program’s monitoring of both human and animal food in FY2020.
- On August 18, 2022, the FDA issued warning letters for marketing illegal flavored nicotine gummies. These warning letters are the first sent for this type of product. The warning letters were issued because the companies selling the products had not submitted a premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) to FDA and the products do not have marketing authorization to be made, sold, or distributed in the U.S. These products also raise concerns because they resemble kid-friendly confectionary products.
- On August 24, 2022, the FDA issued the 2022 edition of the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (Retail Program Standards). The Retail Program Standards, describe the key elements such as recommendations for design, management, and strategy, to support an “effective retail food regulatory program for state, local, tribal, and territorial regulatory agencies.”
- On August 25, 2022, the FDA posted additional answers for stakeholders for the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) final rule on Laboratory Accreditation for Analyses of Foods (LAAF). The new answers from FDA provide, among other things, an overview of the requirements for test methods, clarity on the fact that the agency does not maintain a comprehensive list of test methods performed by these laboratories, and a summary of the specific test methods that are required in certain circumstances.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- On August 1, 2022, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced it will be declaring Salmonella an adulterant in breaded and stuffed raw chicken products. Specifically, FSIS says, “[b]readed and stuffed raw chicken products will be considered adulterated when they exceed a very low level of Salmonella contamination and would be subject to regulatory action. FSIS will be proposing to set the limit at 1 colony forming unit (CFU) of Salmonella per gram for these products, a level that the agency believes will significantly reduce the risk of illness from consuming these products.” The notice is expected to publish in the Federal Register this fall.
- On August 17, 2022, FSIS published in the Federal Register a Final Rule which amends the labeling regulations to eliminate the requirement that packages of meat or poultry products that contain at least one pound or pint, but less than four pounds or one gallon, express the net weight or net content in two different units of measurement on the product label. This is in response to a petition submitted on behalf of a small meat processing establishment.
- On August 23, 2022, the USDA extended a series of infant formula waivers to provide Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) families with additional formula options through December 31, 2022.
Other
- On August 24, 2022, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent payments to over 576 consumers nationwide who bought “deceptively marketed cannabidiol (CBD) products from an Arizona-based company. In total FTC said they returned almost $21,000 to consumers deceived by the “false or unsubstantiated” claims about CBD products ability to treat or cure a variety of conditions.
- The Biden-Harris Administration announced this month that they will be hosting the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health on September 28, 2022. At the Conference, the Administration will be announcing a “National Strategy… that identifies steps the government will take and catalyzes the public and private sectors to address the intersections between food, hunger, nutrition, and public health.” This is the first conference of its’ kind to address these issues in over 50 years.
