Food Industry Regulatory Update August 20, 2021

In This Week’s Edition:

EPA Bans Use of the Pesticide Chlorpyrifos on Food
FSIS to Hold Labeling Webinars
FSIS Updates HACCP Model for Thermally Processed, Commercially Sterile Product
USDA Proposes Expanding Grain Inspection Access
AMS Revises Watermelon Grade Standards
FDA CORE Outbreak Investigation Table Update
APHIS Expands Australian Regions Permitted to Export Citrus to U.S.
USDA Invests $69 Million to Support Critical Food and Nutrition Security Needs
USDA Modernizes the Thrifty Food Plan, Updates SNAP Benefits
FDA Receives Petition for Use of Synthetic Iron Oxide in Food
FDA Issues a Corporate-Wide Warning Letter to Company Associated with Contaminated Pet Food, Hundreds of Adverse Events
USDA Announces Improvements to the Dairy Safety Net and New Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program
FSIS Updates Lists of Foreign Establishments Eligible to Export to U.S.
FDA Import Alerts
FDA Warning Letters

EPA Bans Use of the Pesticide Chlorpyrifos on Food

The pesticide was banned for use on food crops over concerns it causes neurological damage for children.

FSIS to Hold Labeling Webinars in August and September

FSIS will host two labeling webinars in the coming weeks.

The first webinar will cover generic labeling and will be held on August 24, 2021 at 1:00 p.m., ET. The webinar will provide an overview of the generic labeling regulations, including changes to prior label approval requirements for egg products. Additional information about generic labeling can be found in the FSIS Compliance Guideline for Label Approval.

To access the August webinar on Webex, please click here and follow the on-screen instructions. Use the following information when logging in: Meeting Number: 888-844-9904 Code: 2956126. For questions, please contact Gianfranco Santaliz-Rogers at 301-504-0878 or gianfranco.santalizrogers@usda.gov.

The second webinar will take place on September 1, 2021 at 1:00 p.m., ET to discuss claims related to animal raising, including the absence of non-genetically modified ingredients or animal feed on labels. The intent is to help industry understand the requirements and streamline the label submission process. The webinar will provide an overview on documentation needed to support animal raising claims made on meat or poultry products as discussed in the Labeling Guideline on Documentation Needed to Substantiate Animal Raising Claims for Label Submissions.

The September webinar will also provide updated guidelines for factual statements concerning the non-use of bioengineered or genetically modified ingredients on labels of meat, poultry, and egg products addressed in the Labeling Guideline on Statements That Bioengineered or Genetically Modified Ingredients or Animal Feed Were Not Used in Meat, Poultry, or Egg Products.

To access the September webinar on Webex, please click here and follow the on-screen instructions. Use the following information when logging in: Meeting Number: 888-844-9904 Code: 2956126. For questions, please contact Gianfranco Santaliz-Rogers at 301-504-0878 or gianfranco.santalizrogers@usda.gov.

Recordings of the webinars, along with presentation slides, will be posted on the FSIS Events & Meetings webpage for those who cannot attend. Additional guidelines on labeling and other topics are available here.

FSIS Updates HACCP Model for Thermally Processed, Commercially Sterile Product

The updated model is here.

USDA Proposes Expanding Grain Inspection Access

The proposed rule on expanding geographic access to inspections may be found here.

AMS Revises Watermelon Grade Standards

The new standards are here.

CORE Investigation Table Update

The CORE Investigation Table is a list of outbreak investigations being managed by FDA’s CORE Response Teams. The investigations are in a variety of stages, meaning that some outbreaks have limited information, and others may be near completion. The table will be updated weekly.

This week’s updates are:

For Salmonella in shrimp, the outbreak status has changed to Ongoing and the investigation status has changed to Active
For Cyclospora (reference #1026), the case count has changed to 35 cases
For Cyclospora (reference #1020), the case count has changed to 118 cases

Learn more here

USDA Invests $69 Million to Support Food and Nutrition Security Needs

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that it will invest $69 million to address critical food and nutrition security needs of low-income communities enduring the pandemic, enhance the resilience of food and healthcare systems impacted by the pandemic, and maximize funds reaching participants.

Learn more here

USDA Modernizes the Thrifty Food Plan, Updates SNAP Benefits

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today released a re-evaluation of the Thrifty Food Plan, used to calculate Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. As a result, the average SNAP benefit – excluding additional funds provided as part of pandemic relief – will increase for Fiscal Year 2022 beginning on October 1, 2021.

Changes in benefits by State

More details here

FDA Receives Petition on Use of Synthetic Iron Oxide in Food

Details here.

FDA Issues a Corporate-Wide Warning Letter to Company Associated with Contaminated Pet Food, Hundreds of Adverse Events

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a corporate-wide warning letter to Midwestern Pet Foods, Inc. after inspections of its manufacturing sites revealed apparent violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that were shared across the sites. These conditions likely contributed to the illness or death of hundreds of dogs.

USDA Announces Improvements to the Dairy Safety Net and New Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the details of the Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program as part of meetings with farmers and a tour of farms with Senator Leahy. In June, Secretary Vilsack committed to providing additional pandemic assistance for dairy farmers in an exchange at a hearing with Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Leahy. Through the program, USDA will provide about $350 million in pandemic assistance payments to dairy farmers who received a lower value for their products due to market abnormalities caused by the pandemic.

Additional details about the program are available and will be updated at the AMS Dairy Program website.