Category: U.S. Government and Regulatory Agencies
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General Codex Meeting Scheduled
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a June 21, 2019, public meeting to discuss several general Codex Alimentarius Commission issues, including the adoption and revocation of Codex Texts, amendments to Codex Standards, the Codex Strategic Plan 2020-2025 and matters arising from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health…
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EPA, New York Take Actions on Pesticides
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has affirmed its previous opinions finding that “there are no risks to public health when glyphosate is used in accordance with its current label and that glyphosate is not a carcinogen.” “EPA has found no risks to public health from the current registered uses of glyphosate,” EPA Administrator Andrew…
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FDA Draft Guidance Excludes Allulose from Added Sugar Disclosure
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued draft guidance allowing food manufacturers to exclude allulose when calculating the amount of added sugars a product contains. Allulose is “approximately 70 percent as sweet as sucrose,” according to a comment FDA received, and “does not have the metabolic properties of fructose or other sugars and…
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FDA Releases Guidance on Initiating Voluntary Recalls
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued draft guidance on initiating voluntary recalls of food and other agency-regulated products. The guidance discusses (i) “what preparations firms in a distribution chain, including manufacturers and distributors, should consider making to establish recall initiation procedures”; (ii) “preparations firm in the distribution channel should consider making to…
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“Shame on you, Washington Post”: FSIS Criticizes Reporting on Pork Inspections
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued a press release responding to The Washington Post‘s reporting on an impending change to pork plant inspections. “FSIS is appalled at The Washington Post’s poor attempt at explaining a proposal to modernize inspection,” the press release states. “The Post’s decision to…
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FDA Announces Start Date for Intentional Adulteration Inspections
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced that inspections for compliance with a rule aiming to mitigate the risk of intentional adulteration (IA) will begin in March 2020. The rule, which “is designed to address hazards that may be intentionally introduced to foods, including by acts of terrorism, with the intent to cause wide-spread…
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USDA Seeks Comments on NPIP Program Changes
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will accept comments on proposed changes to the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) Program Standards until May 13, 2019. Changes include an amended testing protocol for Mycoplasma, amended Salmonella isolation procedures and updated cleaning and disinfecting procedures.
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Codex Meeting on Food Labeling Scheduled
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced an April 9, 2019, public meeting to receive comments on the United States’ positions for the Codex Committee on Food Labelling meeting to be held in Canada in May 2019. Among the announced topics are (i) “Proposed draft Guidance for the Labelling of Non-Retail Containers”; (ii) “Proposed draft…