OFW’s Food & Agriculture team regularly monitors announcements and policy issuances from FDA, USDA, and other agencies to keep our clients appraised of regulatory developments that may impact their business. Here are a few of the significant developments from October. 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)
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- On October 1, 2024, FDA announced the official implementation of the unified Human Foods Program (HFP). Human foods have now been consolidated from the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), Office of Food Policy and Response (OFPR), and parts of the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) into HFP.
- As a first step, FDA introduced a new complaint process in the new HFP. Instead of directing complaints to the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) Consumer Complaint Coordinator (CCC,) complaints associated with human foods will go through HFP to be evaluated and appropriately assigned.
- Under this new approach, FDA will use dedicated human food inspectors. In turn, animal food facilities will be inspected by dedicated animal food inspectors.
- On October 30, 2024, HFP released its Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Priority Deliverables. The Deliverables are areas that the HFP plans to prioritize in FY 2025, including: (1) Microbiological Safety: Preventing and addressing foodborne illness; (2) Food Chemical Safety: Ensuring exposure to chemicals in food is safe; (3) Nutrition: Empowering consumers to build nutritious diets; and (4) Transforming the Human Foods Program.
- On October 1, 2024, FDA announced the official implementation of the unified Human Foods Program (HFP). Human foods have now been consolidated from the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), Office of Food Policy and Response (OFPR), and parts of the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) into HFP.
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- On October 11, 2024, FDA shared a recording, transcript, and meeting summary of the September 25, 2024, meeting on the Development of an Enhanced Systematic Process for FDA’s Post-Market Assessment of Chemicals in Food.
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- On October 29, 2024, FDA provided an update on phthalates in food packaging and food contact applications. Today, phthalates are no longer used in food packaging/food contact applications, so there has been little controversy over the agency’s May 2022, Final Rule banning 25 plasticizers in various food contact applications. In this notice, FDA responds to only one objection to the Final Rule.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
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- On October 2, 2024, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued FSIS Notice 38-24, “Cell-Cultured Meat and Poultry Food Products Sampling Program.” The Notice provides instructions on sampling and has been updated to provide that after the initial 10 samples for a specific cell line or production method have been collected, FSIS will conduct samples quarterly.
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- On October 8, 2024, USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) published an interim report, “Competition and Fair Practices in Meat Merchandising” and an accompanying fact sheet. Using the beef market as a case study, the report examines the practices of meat retailers. AMS expresses concern in the report regarding the practices of large retailers, such as potentially problematic fees and anticompetitive pricing practices, that may violate the Packers and Stockyards Act (P&S Act).
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- During public presentations on October 18 and October 19, 2024, USDA-FSIS reminded regulated establishments and stakeholders of the importance of sanitation to prevent Listeria Monocytogenes (Lm). Especially in a ready-to-eat (RTE) environment, FSIS said sanitation is important to prevent foodborne illness. FSIS will likely be taking additional action to prevent Lm. Until then, FSIS provided the following long-standing materials:
- Controlling Listeria monocytogenes in Post-lethality Exposed Ready-to-Eat Meat and Poultry Products | Food Safety and Inspection Service (usda.gov)
- A Sanitation Standard Operating Procedure Model | Food Safety and Inspection Service (usda.gov)
- Sanitation Performance Standards Compliance Guide | Food Safety and Inspection Service (usda.gov)
- During public presentations on October 18 and October 19, 2024, USDA-FSIS reminded regulated establishments and stakeholders of the importance of sanitation to prevent Listeria Monocytogenes (Lm). Especially in a ready-to-eat (RTE) environment, FSIS said sanitation is important to prevent foodborne illness. FSIS will likely be taking additional action to prevent Lm. Until then, FSIS provided the following long-standing materials:
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Please contact Kyla Kaplan (kkaplan@ofwlaw.com) if you have any questions or are interested in additional assistance.
