On September 1, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) held a joint webinar to discuss the jointly-issued Employee Health and Food Safety Checklist for Human and...more
9/4/2020
/ Animal Food ,
CGMP ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Food Safety ,
Food Supply ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Safety Inspections ,
Social Distancing ,
Workplace Safety
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced that routine inspections of small businesses to verify compliance with the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act’s (FSMA) Intentional Adulteration (IA) rule will...more
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently released its “Blueprint for the Future” (Blueprint) as part of the New Era of Smarter Food Safety initiative. Launched in April 2019, this effort seeks to build upon FDA’s...more
Dr. Stephen M. Hahn, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement on July 10, 2020, describing the agency’s intentions and approach to resuming domestic inspections in light...more
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently provided an update from FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn M.D. and Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response Frank Yiannas on the forthcoming New Era of Smarter Food...more
On May 27, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued new guidance for human food establishments on voluntarily reporting to FDA temporary closures or significantly reduced production due to the COVID-19 public...more
5/28/2020
/ Animal Food ,
Business Closures ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Farms ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Food Supply ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retailers ,
Self-Reporting
On May 22, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced two policies to provide temporary flexibility with respect to packaged foods formulation and labeling requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic. The...more
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,...more
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...more
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
A recent court decision struck down a 2018 final rule by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), which had relaxed sodium and whole grains requirements for the National School Lunch...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
This post summarizes two recent documents the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued for the Food and Agriculture Sector in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The first, “Use of Respirators, Facemasks, and Cloth Face...more
5/1/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Agricultural Workers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Farms ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Safety ,
Food Supply ,
Health & Safety Standard ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Regulatory Requirements
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...more
Yesterday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted on its website a conversation with FDA Deputy Commissioner for Food and Policy Response Frank Yiannas that addresses common questions concerning food availability...more
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced it will temporarily exercise enforcement discretion for country of origin labeling (COOL) or method of production requirements to...more
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently released guidance regarding compliance with the shell Egg Safety Rule during the COVID-19 pandemic to facilitate the distribution of eggs to retail. The agency also updated...more
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...more
This memorandum summarizes recent actions the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. First, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response Frank Yiannas issued a food...more
In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced it will begin requesting that importers send the agency records required under the Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP)...more
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
This post summarizes recent actions the federal government has taken in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. First, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has updated...more
As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis continues to present new questions and challenges, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to update its website to provide additional information and guidance to the...more