Serving the Latest in Food Law and Policy
In response to two petitions, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced that intends to conduct rulemaking to change its policy toward “Product of USA” claims for meat and poultry products, with an apparent objective of limiting the scope of products eligible for the claim.
Recently, FSIS announced…
On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act,” or the CARES Act. This is the third phase of federal legislation in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The estimated $2 trillion package cuts across nearly every segment of the economy, widely affecting companies and consumers alike, and…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a Constituent Update announcing the Agency temporarily is exercising enforcement discretion to provide labeling flexibilities for redirecting to retail meat and poultry products originally intended for food service. Importantly, FSIS’s enforcement discretion applies only to food that already has been produced. FSIS…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued an updated Labeling Guideline on Statements That Bioengineered or Genetically-Modified Ingredients or Animal Feed Were Not Used in Meat, Poultry, Or Egg Products (Guideline). The updated Guideline clarifies that FSIS will approve negative claims verified under a third-party certifying organization…
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently released the Fall 2019 Unified Agenda of Regulatory Actions, which outlines the rulemaking actions currently under development in each federal agency. This memorandum summarizes the major actions that may be of particular interest to the food industry that are being planned by the U.S. Food and Drug…
Yesterday, FSIS issued its long-awaited guidance on the labeling and packaging of “kit” products. Although FSIS has long informally applied its “kit policy,” this FSIS Compliance Guideline marks the first public guidance that FSIS has provided on the topic. The Compliance Guideline generally reflects the Agency’s informal policy without significant change.
Under its kit policy,…
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently released the Spring 2019 Unified Agenda of Regulatory Actions, which outlines the rulemaking actions currently under development in each federal agency. This memorandum summarizes the major actions that may be of particular interest to the food industry that are being planned by the U.S. Food and Drug…
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report entitled, “Preliminary Incidence and Trends of Infections with Pathogens Transmitted Commonly Through Food – Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, 10 U.S. Sites, 2015-2018” (the Report). The Report summarizes data collected by the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), which tracks infections caused…
On April 17, 2019, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a proposed rule that would eliminate the requirement that certain packages of meat or poultry products display net weights using the so-called “dual declaration” format (e.g., requiring that some products declare weight in both pounds and ounces).…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued a Draft Guideline detailing the Agency’s expectations of companies that identify foreign material in their meat and poultry products and more generally providing recommendations for how establishments should craft their complaint handling policies. FSIS states that it developed the document in response…
