Food Industry Regulatory Update July 30, 2021

In this Week’s Edition:

FDA to Hold Conference on Food Safety and e-Commerce
FDA Debars Supplement Executives for Imports of Intentionally Mislabeled Product
FDA Validating Syntax for FSVP Importer Email Addresses in Entries
Pilgrims Pride Executives Criminally Charged for Price Fixing
FSMA User Fees Announced
USDA MyPlate App Available on Alexa
FSIS Updates Lists of Foreign Establishments Eligible to Export to U.S.
FDA Import Alerts
FDA Warning Letters

FDA to Hold Conference on Food Safety and e-Commerce

The conference will be held virtually October 19-21. More details here.

FDA Debars Supplement Executives for Imports of Intentionally Mislabeled Product

FDA Validating Syntax for FSVP Import Email Addresses in Entries

Starting on September 4, ACE will reject entries in which the FSVP importer email address is not properly formatted. More information here.

Pilgrims Pride Executives Criminally Charged for Price Fixing

From DOJ: A federal grand jury in Denver, Colorado, returned an indictment yesterday charging Koch Foods, headquartered in Park Ridge, Illinois, for participating in a nationwide conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for broiler chicken products. Separately, a federal grand jury in Denver returned an indictment charging four executives for their roles in the same conspiracy.

According to court documents, the four charged former Pilgrim’s Pride executives are Jason McGuire, a former Executive Vice President of Sales for Prepared Foods; Timothy Stiller, a former General Manager of Fresh Food Services and Small Bird Debone; Wesley “Scott” Tucker, a former National Accounts sales executive; and Justin Gay, a former Director of Fresh Foodservice Sales.

The indictments allege that the defendants and co-conspirators conspired to suppress and eliminate competition for sales of broiler chicken products, which are chickens raised for human consumption and sold to grocers and restaurants. Koch’s senior vice president, William Kantola, is among ten individuals indicted in October 2020 for their roles in the conspiracy. On May 19, a grand jury returned an indictment against Claxton Poultry for its role in the same conspiracy, which today’s indictment supersedes. Pilgrim’s Pride, a major broiler chicken producer based in Greeley, Colorado, pleaded guilty and was sentenced in February 2021 to pay a criminal fine of $107 million for its role in the conspiracy. The long-running conspiracy began as early as 2012 and lasted until at least 2019.

FSMA User Fees Announced

The hourly rate is $256 if no travel is required, $277 if domestic travel is required and $331 if foreign travel is required. These fees are applied to facilities and importers requiring reinspection, and facilities and importers that fail to comply with a recall order.

The annual VQIP fee is $15,938.

The initial application fee for a accreditation and certification bodies under the FSMA Third-Party Auditing Rule is $44,512. The annual fee for an accreditation body is $2,064 and certification body is $2,580.

USDA Makes MyPlate App Available on Alexa

USDA announced the launch of its first ever Alexa skill, a digital tool for parents and caregivers of infants and toddlers between four and 24 months old. Families who use the MyPlate Alexa skill receive nutrition information on what and how to feed their child based on their age. More details here.