OFW’s Food & Agriculture team regularly monitors announcements and policy issuances from FDA, USDA, and other agencies to keep our clients apprised of regulatory developments that may impact their business. Here are a few of the developments from March that should be highlighted. If you have any questions or would like more information, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- On March 4, 2024, FDA updated its list of select chemicals (i.e., food ingredients, including food and color additives, food contact substances, and contaminants) currently under FDA’s review. The list now includes all 4 ingredients that were banned in CA under AB-418: Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO), Potassium Bromate, Red No. 3, and Propylparaben as well as Titanium Dioxide, which was removed from the bill at the last minute.
- On March 20, 2024, FDA issued a new import alert for human food products with detectable levels of chemical contaminants that may present a safety concern to human health. The Import Alert 99-48, Detention without Physical Examination of Foods Due to Chemical Contamination, gives the FDA the ability to help prevent the entry of human food products into the U.S. if products are found to be contaminated with a broad range of human-made chemicals including benzene, dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), among others.
- On March 22, 2024, FDA issued a Final Rule, “Food Additives: Food Contact Substance Notification That is No Longer Effective,” which amends agency regulations on how and when FDA may determine that a food contact notification (FCN) is no longer effective.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- On March 6, 2024, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) published a final rule, “Inclusive Competition and Market Integrity Under the Packers and Stockyards Act,” which prohibits certain adverse actions taken on a prejudicial basis, prohibits retaliation against livestock producers and contract growers for participation in protected activities; prohibits certain practices USDA-AMS deems deceptive; and imposes recordkeeping requirements on packers and integrators.
- On March 18, 2024, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) published the Final Rule, “Voluntary Labeling of FSIS-Regulated Products with U.S.- Origin Claims.” The Final Rule establishes new regulatory requirements under 9 C.F.R. Part 412 for voluntary “Product of USA” or “Made in the USA” (the labeling claims for meat, poultry, and egg products) labeling claims.
- On March 29, 2024, USDA-FSIS published a revised Guideline for Retained Water. Moving forward, the agency will not allow the “subtraction” of percent water post-chill minus percent water pre-chill. Plants will have until Sept. 30, 2024, to submit their revised retained water calculation protocols to Risk Management and Innovation Staff (RMIS) for review.
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Please contact Kyla Kaplan (kkaplan@ofwlaw.com) if you have any questions or are interested in additional assistance.
