Food Industry Regulatory Update August 30, 2024

August 30, 2024

In This Week’s Edition:

FSIS Responds to Petitions
FDA Issues Final Rule Increasing the Minimum Age for Certain Restrictions on Tobacco Sales
USDA Releases Updated Guidance on Substantiation of Animal-Raising Claims
Meeting of the National Organic Standards Board
National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods: Public Meeting
Addition of Bangladesh, Montenegro, and Albania to the List of Regions Affected by African Swine Fever
FDA CORE Outbreak Investigation Status Update
FSIS Updates Lists of Foreign Establishments Eligible to Export to U.S.
FDA Import Alerts
FDA Warning Letters

FSIS Responds to Petitions

FSIS responded to the petitition submitted by Environmental Working Group.

FSIS will not prohibit the “Low-Carbon Beef” claim recently approved by USDA.
FSIS will not prohibit all carbon or climate-related labeling claims.
FSIS will not require third party certification of carbon or climate-related claims.
FSIS will not require numerical on-pack carbon disclosure when carbon or climate-related claims are made.

In response to the petition submitted by Perdue Farms, LLC FSIS updated its guidance on “pasture-raised” claims. On August 28, 2024, FSIS posted a notice announcing the availability of an updated version of its guideline. The updated guideline strongly encourages establishments to provide additional documentation to FSIS to substantiate label claims like “pasture raised,” “pasture fed,” “pasture grown,” and “meadow raised.” Specifically, as requested, the Agency now encourages producers to provide FSIS with documentation demonstrating that the products are derived from animals raised on land where the majority is rooted in vegetative cover with grass or other plants for the majority of their life span frombirth until slaughter.

FSIS responded to the petition submitted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

FSIS will continue to review and approve all claims displayed on
products under its jurisdiction, including animal-raising claims.
FSIS will not rescind its animal-raising claims guideline as requested by the petition.
FSIS will continue to administer and enforce humane handling standards.

FDA Issues Final Rule Increasing the Minimum Age for Certain Restrictions on Tobacco Sales

FDA announced a final rule that raises the minimum age for certain restrictions on tobacco product sales. These requirements are in line with legislation signed in December 2019 that immediately raised the federal minimum age of sale of tobacco products in the United States from 18 to 21 years of age. Once implemented, the requirements are expected to help decrease underage tobacco sales.

USDA Releases Updated Guidance on Substantiation of Animal-Raising Claims

USDA announced the availability of an updated guideline that makes recommendations to strengthen the documentation that supports animal-raising or environment-related claims on meat or poultry product labeling.

Meeting of the National Organic Standards Board

USDA’s AMS is announcing a meeting of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). The NOSB assists USDA in the development of standards for substances to be used in organic production and advises the Secretary of Agriculture on any other aspects of the implementation of the Organic Foods Production Act. An in-person meeting will be held October 22-24, 2024, from 8:30 a.m. to approximately 6 p.m. Pacific time.

National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods: Public Meeting

This notice is announcing that the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods will hold a public meeting of the full Committee and Subcommittees from September 24, 2024, to September 26, 2024. The Committee will provide updates on FSIS’ Genomics charge and the FDA’s Cronobacter spp. in Powdered Infant Formula charge.

Addition of Bangladesh, Montenegro, and Albania to the List of Regions Affected by African Swine Fever

USDA is advising the public that they have added Bangladesh, Montenegro, and Albania to the APHIS list maintained on the APHIS website of regions considered to be affected by African swine fever. USDA has taken this action because of the confirmation of ASF in these countries.

FDA CORE Outbreak Investigation Status Update

This week’s updates are:

A new outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses (ref #1249) linked to a not yet identified product has been added to the table. FDA has initiated traceback.
For the outbreak of Cyclospora cayetanensis illnesses (ref #1245) linked to a not yet identified product, the case count has increased from 35 to 41 cases.
For the outbreak of Salmonella Newport (ref #1248) linked to a not yet identified product, the case count has increased from 4 to 6.
For the outbreak of Cyclospora cayetanensis illnesses (ref #1237) linked to a not yet identified product, the case count has increased from 44 to 46 cases.
For the outbreak of Salmonella Africana & Braenderup (ref #1227), the advisory was updated on August 22, 2024. The outbreak has ended, and FDA’s investigation has closed.

CORE Investigation Table