Category: U.S. Government and Regulatory Agencies
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FDA Announces Flexibility on Nutrition Facts Enforcement for Smaller Manufacturers
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it will not initiate enforcement actions for the updated Nutrition and Supplement Facts label requirements in 2021 against food manufacturers with less than $10 million in annual food sales. The updated requirements are scheduled to take effect January 1, 2021. “Although the compliance date will…
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DEA Submits Proposed Rule on Implementing 2018 Farm Bill’s Hemp Legalization
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has proposed a rule that would codify the legalization of hemp cultivation and related definitions passed in the 2018 Farm Bill into the Controlled Substances Act. The amendments include (i) modifying federal rules to state that “the definition of ‘Tetrahydrocannabinols’ does not include ‘any material, compound, mixture, or preparation…
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FSIS Announces Meat Inspection Committee Meeting
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced a virtual public meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI) on September 24-25, 2020. The objectives are “for the Committee to review and advise about the steps FSIS should take to ensure better control of artisanal,…
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Schumer Urges USDA to Delay Hemp Rule
U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to “delay the issuance of a U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program final rule until 2022 and allow hemp growers and producers across the country and in Upstate New York to continue to operate under the 2014 Farm Bill pilot program regulations…
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FDA Issues Final Rule on Gluten-Free Labeling
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a final rule establishing requirements for “gluten-free” labeling for foods with fermented or hydrolyzed ingredients. Under the rule, FDA will evaluate compliance based on records manufacturers will be required to maintain because the agency “knows of no scientifically valid analytical method effective in detecting and quantifying…
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USDA Accepting Comments on Organic Rule Amendments
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting comments on the Agricultural Marketing Service’s proposed amendments to organic regulations concerning oversight and enforcement of the production, handling and sale of organic agricultural products. The proposed rule would require the use of National Organic Program Import Certificates for all organic products entering the United States and…
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FDA Issues Guidance on Arsenic in Infant Rice Cereals
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued final guidance on inorganic arsenic in rice cereals for infants that sets the action level at 100 micrograms per kilogram, or 100 parts per billion. “FDA has made the determination that this level is achievable based on sampling and testing results,” the guidance states. “This guidance…
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USDA Soliciting Feedback on Bioengineered Foods List
The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will accept comments on recommendations to update the List of Bioengineered Foods as it pertains to the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard. Recommendations include the addition of sugarcane and an amendment to reflect that the only currently available trait for bioengineered summer squash…