Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Tag: food safety/FSMA

  • GAO Report Criticizes FDA Food Recall Process

    The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a July 26, 2012, report criticizing the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) efforts to implement a comprehensive food advisory and recall process. As directed by the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, GAO reportedly assessed the agency’s ability to order recalls and effectively inform consumers and retailers about food safety…

  • USDA Grants Produce Safety Program Temporary Reprieve

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has reportedly agreed to fund produce safety inspections through the end of 2012 despite the government’s failure to include the agency’s Microbiological Data Program (MDP) in next year’s budgets. According to media sources, neither the Obama administration nor Congress allocated resources for the 11-year-old program, which coordinates with local…

  • FDA Meeting to Focus on International Capacity-Building Food Safety Plan

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a public meeting titled “International Capacity Building with Respect to Food Safety.” Scheduled for June 19, 2012, in Washington, D.C., the meeting will highlight “FDA’s comprehensive plan to expand the technical, scientific, and regulatory capacity of foreign governments and their respective food industries in countries that export…

  • FDA Issues Recordkeeping Guidance on Food Distribution

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued updated industry guidance “pertaining to the establishment and maintenance of records by persons who manufacture, process, pack, transport, distribute, receive, hold, or import food.” Although this fifth edition is effective immediately, FDA welcomes comments at any time. Requiring records that identify “immediate previous sources and the immediate…

  • House Committee Completes Investigative Report on Tainted Cantaloupe

    The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s report on the 2011 Listeria outbreak that was traced to cantaloupes grown and processed at Jensen Farms in Colorado has identified a number of problems that led to the “deadliest foodborne illness outbreak in over 25 years.” The bipartisan investigation found that a third-party auditing company (i) gave the farm…

  • Congress Blocks USDA’s Proposed School Lunch Rules, Boosts FDA Food Safety Budget

    Congress has approved and President Barack Obama (D) has signed a bipartisan agricultural spending bill (H.R. 2112) that will block or delay regulations aimed at making school lunches healthier. Signed into law on November 18, 2011, the bill will, among other things, prohibit the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from limiting starchy vegetables, such as…

  • Denver Post Investigates Private Food Safety Auditors

    The Denver Post has published an October 30, 2011, investigative report that examines the record of private auditors hired by manufacturers to ensure food safety. According to the article, “Many of the most notorious food-illness outbreaks in the recent years were preceded by glowing private safety audits of the producers, prompting calls for oversight of…

  • FDA Issues Guidance on Detention of Human, Animal Food

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued industry guidance concerning the “administrative detention of human or animal food.” Providing information about FDA’s authority under the Food Safety and Modernization Act to hold adulterated or misbranded food and prevent it from reaching the marketplace, the guidance explains who can approve an administrative detention order, what…