November Food and Agriculture Regulatory Recap

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 November 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 November 2, 2023, FDA proposed to revoke brominated vegetable oil’s (BVO) status as an approved food additive. This follows California’s recent actions to ban 4 food ingredients, including BVO. FDA is now reviewing several additional additives, including the other three California-banned additives – (i.e., potassium bromate, propylparaben and red dye No. 3).

• On November 16, 2023, the Regan-Udall Foundation hosted a virtual public meeting to discuss an overview of FDA’s efforts on front-of-package (FOP) labeling as well as brief statements from a variety of interested stakeholders.

• On November 22, 2022, FDA published a resource for the industry on the new requirement for manufacturers of critical foods (such as, but not limited to, infant formula) to develop a redundancy risk management plan.

• On November 27, 2023, FDA released a Small Entity Compliance Guide to help these small entities comply with the recent changes made to modernize the standard of identity for yogurt.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

• On November 28, 2023, USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) published the final rule, “Transparency in Poultry Grower Contracting and Tournaments.” The final rule, which will be effective on February 12, 2024,  amends the Packers and Stockyards Act regulations by: (1) Adding disclosures and information that live poultry dealers engaged in the production of broiler chickens must furnish to poultry growers with whom dealers make poultry growing arrangements; and (2) Establishing additional disclosure requirements for live poultry dealers engaged in the production of broilers who use poultry grower ranking systems (or “tournaments”) to determine settlement payments for broiler growers.

• This month, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) noted that a proposed rule addressing Salmonella in poultry is currently under review at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). FSIS will be providing an update on the timing of the publication of the proposed rule in a forthcoming FSIS Constituent Update. The final rule will be based on the Fall 2022 Salmonella Regulatory Framework Proposal and related public comments and engagements.

• FSIS currently has two other rulemakings under review at OMB. Both are slated to be finalized in early 2024:
  • Salmonella in Not-Ready-to-Eat Breaded Stuffed Chicken Products
  • Voluntary Labeling of FSIS-Regulated Products with U.S.-Origin Claims

Other  

• On November 17, 2023, the Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration (IFSAC) – a collaboration between the FDA, USDA-FSIS, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), published its newest annual report, “Foodborne illness source attribution estimates for Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157, and Listeria monocytogenes – United States, 2021.” The report highlights the following “priority pathogens” –Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157, Campylobacter, and Listeria monocytogenes and says these cause over two million cases of foodborne illness each year in the U.S.

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Please contact Kyla Kaplan ([email protected]) if you have any questions or are interested in additional assistance.