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 June that should be highlighted.
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 June 1, 2023, FDA appointed Donald Prater, D.V.M., to serve as Acting Director of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) following Susan Mayne’s retirement.
- On June 14, 2023, FDA published the agency’s “Second Procedural Notice on Consumer Research on Front-of-Package (FOP) Labeling.” The procedural notice indicates FDA plans to conduct a study focused on “Quantitative Research on FOP labeling on Packaged Foods” based on a focus group conducted in 2022.
- On June 20, 2023, FDA released the 2017-2018 Report on “The Occurrence of Foodborne Illness Risk Factors in Fast Food and Full-Service Restaurants.” Findings from this report suggest that an appropriate Food Safety Management System (FSMS) can help reduce occurrences of foodborne illness risk factors.
- On June 26, 2023, FDA published a new “frequently asked questions (FAQ)” and related tools to provide industry with additional information on the Federal Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Food Traceability Rule. The new FAQ focuses mainly on clarifying how the Food Traceability Rule applies in specific industry situations.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- On June 14, 2023, USDA issued a press release, “USDA Launches Effort to Strength Substantiation of Animal-Raising Claims.” The press release announced a forthcoming change to USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS) approach to approving voluntary animal-raising claims, such as “Raised Without Antibiotics,” “grass-fed,” and “free-range.”
- On June 20, 2023, USDA-FSIS announced the availability of its updated guidance, “FSIS Best Practices Guidance for Controlling Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) in Retail Delicatessens (deli).” The guidance provides information for retail firms on: (1) Actions retailers can take to decrease the potential for Lm growth and cross-contamination; (2) ways to better maintain sanitary conditions; and (3) helpful tools to identify potential gaps in current best practice procedures.
- On June 21, 2023, USDA issued Grants of Inspection (GOI) to two companies that intend to manufacture cell-cultured chicken products, Upside Foods and Good Meat Company (as well as a Good Meat co-packer, Joinn Biologics). Along with the GOI, FSIS released FSIS Directive 7800.1, “FSIS Responsibilities in Establishments Producing Cell-Cultured Meat and Poultry Food Products,” and FSIS Notice 27-23, “Cell-Cultured Meat and Poultry Food Products Sampling Program.”
Other
- Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – On June 2, 2023, companies 3M and DuPont agreed in a settlement of over $100 Million over PFAS contamination. On June 28, 2023, New Jersey and the company Solvay reached a $393 Million similarly-situated settlement. While these cases do not focus on PFAS in food or food packaging, OFW Law has been and will continue to monitor the developments with PFAS legislation especially as it relates to food and food packaging. Please contact us if you have any questions or would like assistance understanding your responsibility around PFAS.
