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 June. 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 18, 2025, FDA released a proposed method for ranking “chemicals” in the food supply, to assist the agency in prioritizing which food additives; color additives; generally recognized as safe (GRAS) substances (including GRAS substances that have not been notified to FDA); food contact substances; and chemicals that are present as unintentional contaminants will undergo a post-market assessment. The last day to submit comments is July 18, 2025.
On June 24, 2024, FDA published an updated Compliance Program 7321.005, “General Food Labeling Requirements and Labeling-Related Sample Analysis – Domestic and Import.” This updated version supersedes the 2010 edition, incorporating the latest labeling regulations, updated operational guidance, and current enforcement priorities.
On June 30, 2025, FDA released the agency’s 2025 Human Food Program Guidance Agenda for guidance documents or revisions to existing guidance documents. Topics including “Food Colors Derived from Natural Sources: Fruit Juice and Vegetable Juice as Color Additives in Food” and “Draft Guidance for Industry New Dietary Ingredient Notifications and Related Issues: Identity and Safety Information About the NDI: Guidance for Industry” are priorities for the agency’s Human Foods Program (HFP) to complete during 2025.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
As of June 18, 2025, USDA-Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS) Accredited Lab Program is offering Listeria spp. and Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) accreditations. The initiative aims to increase the availability of reliable laboratory services for establishments to perform testing associated with the Listeria Rule and maintain sanitation in their processing environment. The Accredited Lab Program is a voluntary, fee-based program that provides establishments access to accredited laboratories that can perform reliable food safety testing services to support their hazard analysis and control programs.
On June 19, 2025, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced a New World Screwworm (NWS) Domestic Readiness and Response Policy Initiative. While NWS has not been detected in the U.S. since its eradication in 1966, the initiative outlines a five-pronged plan to combat NWS in the present day. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) leads surveillance and response efforts, collaborating with partners in Mexico and Central America to prevent the pest’s northward movement.
On June 30, 2025, USDA-FSIS pre-published a Final Rule, “Removal of Pumped Bacon Sampling Regulations,” which will amend the Federal meat inspection regulations to remove the provisions providing for FSIS’ sampling and testing of pumped bacon for nitrosamines. FSIS stopped sampling for nitrosamines in 1998.
Other
On June 22, 2025, TX SB 25 was signed into law. The law requires foods containing any of forty-four (44) specified ingredients, including artificial colors, titanium dioxide, and numerous, commonly used processing aids, preservatives, and other ingredients, to provide a warning statement that the food contains an ingredient that has “not been recommended for consumption” by Australia, Canada, the European Union, or the United Kingdom. The effective date of the Act is September 1, 2025. It appears that the requirements are intended to apply to product labels developed after January 1, 2027. This is just one of many bills that have been introduced and/or signed into law regulating/limiting food materials across the U.S. If you have additional questions about how this may impact your business, please get in touch with us.
***
Please contact Kyla Kaplan (kkaplan@ofwlaw.com) if you have any questions or are interested in additional assistance.