Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Category: FDA

  • Advocacy Groups Seek to Vacate FDA GRAS Rule

    Five public advocacy groups have filed suit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking to vacate FDA’s “Substances Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) rule, which allegedly allows “potentially unsafe food additives to be used in the food supply (human and animal) without FDA review,…

  • Court Enters Consent Decree for Animal Feed Maker After FDA Complaint

    Syfrett Feed Co., a Florida manufacturer of medicated animal feeds, has entered into a consent decree to control its production process and comply with federal laws before resuming medicated feed operations. U.S. v. Syfrett Feed Co., Inc., No. 17-­14038 (S.D. Fla., order entered May 4, 2017). The court entered the decree after the U.S. Food…

  • Scott Gottlieb Confirmed, Sworn In as FDA Commissioner

    The U.S. Senate has confirmed Scott Gottlieb to lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a 57-­42 vote. Gottlieb previously served as a deputy FDA commissioner and an official at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services during the George W. Bush administration. Among Gottlieb’s critics are senators who expressed concern over his connections…

  • FDA Budget Includes GMO Information Campaign

    A budget plan passed to fund the U.S. government until September 2017 reportedly includes $3 million to pay for an information campaign about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food. As a partnership between the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Agriculture, the campaign will apparently seek to counter “misinformation about agricultural…

  • FDA Announces Decisions on Perchlorate in Food Seals, Packaging

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) denied a citizen petition to ban the use of perchlorates in dry food packaging while revoking regulations permitting the use of potassium perchlorate in food­-container seals, saying industry makers no longer use the chemical. FDA said it will amend food additive regulations allowing the use of potassium perchlorate…

  • FDA Extends Menu Labeling Compliance Date to 2018

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the compliance date for calorie-­count menu labeling from May 5, 2017, to May 7, 2018, and is inviting public comment on the issue. The menu-­labeling rule applies to restaurants with 20 or more locations, as well as “grab-­and-­go” foodservice vendors such as supermarkets, coffee shops and…

  • Comment Periods Extended for Genome Editing in Plants and Animals

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced an extension to its comment periods for information on the use of genome editing techniques in animals and in plant varieties used for human or animal food. Comments on FDA’s draft guidance, “Regulation of Intentionally Altered Genomic DNA in Animals,” and on the use of genome…

  • USDA, FDA Nominations Near Senate Votes

    The Senate Agriculture Committee has approved Sonny Perdue’s nomination to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), with Perdue receiving support from all members of the committee except Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-­N.Y.), along with an abstention from Sonny Perdue’s cousin, David Perdue (R-­Ga.). The full Senate vote has not yet been scheduled. See Politico, March…