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On May 19, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) authorizing federal agencies to provide regulatory relief to support the economic response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Specifically, the EO allows agencies to rescind, modify, waive, or provide exemptions from regulatory and other requirements that may impede economic recovery, consistent with applicable law and protection of…

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently issued a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding the potential use of the Defense Production Act (DPA) with regard to FDA-regulated food. Importantly, USDA retains its DPA authority for products subject to FDA jurisdiction. The MOU, however, establishes that FDA will…

On May 19, 2020, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued Revised Enforcement Guidance (Guidance) requiring employers to investigate whether employee COVID-19 infections are “work-related” for the purpose of determining whether a record must be made of such infections. This Guidance, which is effective on May 26, 2020, backtracks from OSHA’s prior April 10…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued Interim Guidance from CDC and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Manufacturing Workers and Employers (the Interim Guidance), which provides recommendations related to COVID-19 transmission considerations for manufacturing workers and employers. This Interim Guidance is in most parts the same as the previously issued…

As part of the COVID-19 “lockdown measures” in Dubai, all dine-in restaurants, cafés, and food establishments were temporarily closed as of 25 March 2020. As from 24 April 2020, the Dubai government began the process of easing certain lockdown measures. This facilitated the reopening of food establishments, subject to certain restrictions. This alert provides an…

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) recently issued a COVID-19 Industry Guidance intended for facilities that process or pack meat, dairy, or produce to support a safe and clean environment for workers. In general, the recommendations provided by CDPH are generally consistent with the interim guidance for meat and poultry processing workers and employers…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently provided an update regarding its plans for conducting routine surveillance inspections of domestic and foreign facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. FDA announced in March that it would temporarily postpone foreign and domestic inspections, with the exception of certain “mission-critical” inspections, as identified on a case-by-case basis. In…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued two resources for retail food establishments that are reopening after closing or partially closing in response to COVID-19. The resources include a Food Safety Checklist with considerations for retail food establishments when restarting or resuming operations and an infographic identifying best practices for reopening during the…

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently updated its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) webpage regarding COVID-19 to include a section on President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) invoking the Defense Production Act (DPA) for Meat and Poultry Processors. These FAQs address the role USDA plays in implementing the EO, what meat and poultry plants should…

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…