Food Industry Regulatory Update December 17, 2021

In This Week’s Edition:

FSIS Guidelines for Salmonella and Clostridium Control
USDA’s Agricultural Outlook Forum
Secretary Vilsack Thanks America’s Agricultural Producers
Food Importer Banned for COOL Fraud
Barcodes in Lieu of Shipping Marks for Fresh Meat Products From Australia
Availability of 2021 USDA Cooking Guideline
FDA Releases Annual Summary Report on Antimicrobials Sold or Distributed in 2020 for Use in Food-Producing Animals
FDA Grants Citizen Petition on Acacia (Gum Arabic) as a Dietary Fiber
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 Guidelines for Salmonella and Clostridium Control

FSIS announced the availability of two updated guidelines for meat and poultry establishments concerning the destruction of Salmonella and other pathogens during cooking of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products and the control of the growth of spore-forming Clostridial pathogens in heat-treated and not-ready-to-eat meat and poultry products during cooling and hot-holding.

USDA’s Agricultural Outlook Forum

USDA announced their 98th annual Agricultural Outlook Forum which is to be held February 24-25, 2022 and will feature more than 30 sessions and 100+ agricultural leaders and experts.

Secretary Vilsack Thanks America’s Agricultural Producers

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack released a statement and video thanking American farmers and producers for their resilience for the 2021 year.

Food Importer Banned for COOL Fraud

FDA issued an order under the FD&C act debarring Jeffrey A. Styron for a period of 5 years from importing articles of food or offering such articles for importation into the U.S. for fraudulently labeling crabmeat as product of the U.S.

Barcodes in Lieu of Shipping Marks for Fresh Meat Products From Australia

USDA released a directive that provides instructions to inspection program personnel for applying the official import mark of inspection for shipments of fresh meat products exported to the US from establishments in Australia with barcodes in lieu of shipping marks on shipping containers.

Availability of 2021 USDA Cooking Guideline

USDA released a notice that provides instructions for inspection program personnel to notify establishments that revised versions of FSIS Cooking Guideline for Meat and Poultry Products and FSIS Stabilization Guideline for Meat and Poultry Products are now available.

FDA Releases Annual Summary Report on Antimicrobials Sold or Distributed in 2020 for Use in Food-Producing Animals

The FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine published the 2020 Summary Report on Antimicrobials Sold or Distributed for Use in Food-Producing Animals. Read the full report here.

FDA Grants Citizen Petition on Acacia (Gum Arabic) as a Dietary Fiber

The FDA announced that it intends to propose that “Acacia (Gum Arabic)” also known as gum acacia, be included as part of the FDA’s definition of dietary fiber. The action is being taken in response to a citizen petition from Nexira, Alland & Robert and Importers Service Corporation.

FDA CORE Outbreak Investigation Status Update

This week’s updates are:

There is a new outbreak on the table: Listeria monocytogenes in a food that has not yet been identified.
For the Salmonella Javiana outbreak, the case count has increased to 51 cases and an on-site inspection has been initiated and sample collection & analysis has also been initiated.

CORE Investigation Table