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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently released several guidelines for various segments of the food industry to address the COVID-19 pandemic. First, CDC issued Interim Guidance from CDC and the U.S. Department of Labor, Agriculture Workers and Employers (“the Interim Guidance”), which provides recommendations related to COVID-19…

Late Tuesday, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue sent letters to state governors and meat and poultry processing company leaders setting forth USDA’s expectations for continued operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. These letters follow President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order issued last week ordering USDA to take all appropriate actions to ensure that…

Late yesterday, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order invoking the Defense Production Act (DPA) to protect the meat and poultry production supply chain. In the Executive Order, entitled, Delegating Authority Under The Defense Production Act With Respect To Food Supply Chain Resources During The National Emergency Caused By The Outbreak Of COVID-19, the President…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have issued interim guidance on COVID-19 considerations for meat and poultry processing workers and employers. This Interim Guidance, one of the most comprehensive to date for a specific industry, was developed recognizing that meat and poultry establishments and their operations…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently updated their respective questions and answers guidance to address questions or update their recommendations concerning food safety and COVID-19. FDA has supplemented its questions and answers guidance on topics regarding the food supply, social distancing, and responding to a worker who…

This post summarizes two recent steps by the federal government to provide food safety guidance in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. First, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a fact sheet and corresponding summary infographic on Best Practices for Retail Food Stores, Restaurants, and Food Pick-Up and Delivery Services During the COVID-19…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently updated their respective COVID-19 questions and answers guidance. FDA updated its food safety questions and answers guidance on COVID-19 with additional information related to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) updated recommendations regarding the use of cloth face coverings.…

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…