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...more
5/16/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Training ,
Farm Animals ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Food Safety ,
Food Supply ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
OSHA ,
Public Health ,
Social Distancing ,
Workplace Decontamination ,
Workplace Safety
On May 1, 2020, Blue Bell Creameries L.P. (Blue Bell) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) entered into two separate agreements related to the 2015 listeriosis outbreak linked to Blue Bell ice cream. This memorandum...more
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...more
5/8/2020
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Agriculture ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Food Safety ,
Food Supply ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
OSHA ,
Secretary of Agriculture ,
USDA ,
Workplace Safety
This week, 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...more
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...more
5/1/2020
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Farm Animals ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Food Safety ,
Food Supply ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Poultry ,
Public Health ,
Workplace Safety
The FDA issued a new guidance document that provides retailers with some flexibility from labeling requirements for shell eggs in order to facilitate the distribution of eggs during the COVID-19 pandemic. This guidance...more
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...more
3/30/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Agricultural Marketing Act ,
APHIS ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Aid ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Food Safety ,
Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) ,
Relief Measures ,
SNAP Program ,
Tax Credits
In our memo of March 19, we summarized federal government policy identifying the Food and Agriculture and Transportation industries as two of the nation’s 16 Critical Infrastructure Sectors. In The President’s Coronavirus...more
3/20/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Business Closures ,
Business Interruption ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Farms ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Food Service Workers ,
Food Supply ,
Operators of Essential Services ,
Restaurant Industry
As the novel coronavirus crisis continues to escalate, state and local governments have begun implementing increasingly aggressive measures, including restrictions on when and which businesses may operate, quarantines,...more
As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has continued to escalate, both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have taken additional action to provide industry, the...more
3/18/2020
/ China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Food Recalls ,
Food Safety ,
Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) ,
Food Supply ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health ,
Safety Inspections ,
USDA
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...more
12/19/2019
/ Agribusiness ,
APHIS ,
Farms ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Food Safety ,
Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) ,
Food Supply ,
FSMA ,
Imports ,
OMB ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Rulemaking Process ,
USDA
Recently, 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...more
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...more
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...more
What are the 3 letters that should strike fear into the heart of every food executive? No, the 3 letters are not F-D-A. Although the Food and Drug Administration is quite powerful, the agency can only wield that power...more