The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is planning to host a webinar on Monday, June 27, 2016, to review the agency’s recent Nutrition Facts Labeling Final Rules and what industry needs to know about the changes to nutrition facts labels and serving sizes. The FDA published the final rules in the Federal Register on May 27, … Continue Reading
In a major step aimed at helping consumers maintain healthy dietary practices, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final rule on a new nutrition facts panel that will be required on the back of packaged food and beverages in the coming years. The final rule revises FDA regulations to provide updated nutrition … Continue Reading
In July, there was a story going round about how the Seed Library at the Joseph T. Simpson Public Library in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania was being shut down for fears of “agri-terrorism.” Indeed, according to one story, this was being done by the USDA and “Cumberland County Library System Executive Director Jonelle Darr was told that the … Continue Reading
The New York Court of Appeals has ruled in the case of Statewide Coalition of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce v. New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene to strike down, permanently, New York City’s attempted ban on sugar-based beverages in containers larger than 16 ounces. As we suggested when the case was just before … Continue Reading
Our colleagues at the California Environmental Law Blog note the General Industrial Storm Water Permit is slated for adoption on April 1, 2014. Everyone in the California food industry from owners of feedlots to operators of manufacturing facilities will find this very important and should follow developments as Ryan Waterman and Missy Foster report on … Continue Reading
While standing in front of a tractor at Michigan State University (the first land-grant university) on Friday, February 7, 2014, President Obama signed the long awaited $956 billion farm bill into law. The 2014 Farm Bill, what some have called a “jobs bill,” an “innovation bill,” a “research bill” and a “conservation bill,” passed in … Continue Reading
For the past few years, there has been a steady, if not increasing, stream of class action lawsuits filed against various food and beverage manufacturers and retailers alleging misbranding and false advertising due to the presence of “All Natural” claims. The companies sued in these cases range from major manufacturers and retailers to small private … Continue Reading
Many of you may be familiar with the famous confection known as the Kinder Surprise or Kinder Egg, a toy-filled chocolate that is touted as the single largest children’s candy category in the world. The treat is manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero and has risen to nearly cult status in certain countries. Kinder Eggs are … Continue Reading
Social media has become a critical component of a company’s product marketing and promotion. However, based on FDA’s increased enforcement action around social media activity, it is a risk to be carefully considered. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently published a December 11, 2012 warning letter on its website that cited a dietary supplement … Continue Reading
Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made some progress toward implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) by issuing two new proposed food safety rules. Specifically, the agency published proposed rules to establish standards for (1) growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of produce for human consumption (the “Produce Safety Rule”) and for … Continue Reading
We are pleased to announce that we have opened a satellite office in Washington, D.C. Our new address, effective immediately: Stoel Rives LLP 1020 19th Street NW, Suite 375 Washington, DC 20036 Phone: (202) 398-1795 / Fax: (202) 621-6394 The new office is headed by firm partner Greg Jenner, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of … Continue Reading
On January 4, 2013, exactly two years after the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law by President Obama, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published two new proposed food safety rules that will be available for public comment for the next 120 days. The first rule on “Preventive Controls for Human Food” … Continue Reading
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the deadline for food facilities to submit their registration until January 31, 2013. Under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), domestic and foreign facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold food for human or animal consumption in the United States are required to renew their facility … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a press release on Wednesday, December 5, 2012, announcing that companies producing raw ground chicken and turkey and similar products will be required to reassess their sanitation procedures and pathogen control plans over the next few months. Specifically, over the next 90 days, … Continue Reading
Registration of food facilities with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been a requirement for almost a decade. Since the passage of the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness Response Act on June 12, 2002, facilities engaged in manufacturing, processing, packing, or holding food for consumption in the United States have been required … Continue Reading
Our colleague Claire Mitchell recently published an article in Guide to U.S. Food Labeling Law that describes how a California ballot initiative could be a game changer for food companies that use biotechnology in their food production process. Titled the California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, the initiative represents the state’s first-ever ballot … Continue Reading
On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that bisphenol A (BPA) is now formally banned from use in baby bottles and sippy cups. The announcement came as a surprise to some as the FDA had only just recently, on March 30, 2012, issued a decision to deny a petition by the Natural … Continue Reading
Egg-associated illness caused by Salmonella has long been recognized as a serious public health problem. Specifically, Salmonella Enteritidis, a bacterium commonly found inside shell eggs that appear normal, continues to be one of the leading bacterial causes of foodborne illness in the United States. These eggs primarily become contaminated on the farm because of infection … Continue Reading
In the conclusion to Aaron Bobrow-Strain’s White Bread: A Social History of the Store-Bought Loaf, he describes how he, a home bread baker, captures the microbes for his homemade sourdough. It’s not what we’d call hygienic, but it also apparently makes a delicious bread. Bobrow-Strain’s own behavior is really what tells you his conclusion: where bread is concerned, everything … Continue Reading
Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a notice announcing new procedures that it intends to implement when FSIS or other Federal or State agencies find a presumptive positive for Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 in raw ground beef. The impetus behind these new procedures was to improve … Continue Reading
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a press release indicating that the agency’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) was proposing a new rule to modernize young chicken and turkey slaughter inspection. Specifically, the rule intends to expand the use of the flexible, more efficient, fully integrated meat and poultry inspection … Continue Reading
In following up from a previous Food Liability Law blog post that was recently published on Law360, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Friday, March 30, 2012, that is was denying a petition by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to ban the use of Bisphenol A (BPA) in food and beverage packaging … Continue Reading
Effective March 1, 2012, the FDA implemented an Interim Final Rule on the “Establishment, Maintenance, and Availability of Records” under the Food Safety Modernization Act, “FSMA”. The FSMA statute among other new provisions, expanded the FDA’s authority to access and demand records from relating to the specific suspect article of food records, to include those relating … Continue Reading
In follow up to previous articles, we note that a consumer group last week released a report that alleged that caramel colored sodas (Coke,Diet-Coke, Pepsi and Diet Pepsi) contain levels of 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI) that reached a level of 7 in a million cancer risk. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, claims that the carcinogen … Continue Reading
