In This Week’s Edition:
- FDA Restructuring Human Foods Program; Update
- FTC to Host Workshop on “Recyclable” Claims as Part of its Ongoing Review of the Agency’s Green Guides
- FDA Advises Restaurants, Retailers and Consumers to Avoid Recalled Wild Harvest Oysters from Certain Areas in Florida
- Proposed Establishment of the Crystal Springs of Napa Valley Viticultural Area
- FDA Expands Country-Wide Import Alert for Enoki Mushrooms to China
- Food Standards; General Principles and Food Standards Modernization; Withdrawal of Proposed Rule
- FDA Provides Update on Proposed Human Foods Program and Office of Regulatory Affairs Restructuring
- Outbreak Investigation of Salmonella: Sprouts (December 2022)
- USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service Foreign Audit Report: United Kingdom
- Sampling Verification Activities for Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli in Raw Beef Products; Revision
- Meeting of the Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee
- Innophos, Inc.; Filing of Color Additive Petition
- FSIS Expansion of Generic Label Approval
- FDA CORE Outbreak Investigation Status Update
- FSIS Updates Lists of Foreign Establishments Eligible to Export to U.S.
- FDA Import Alerts
- FDA Warning Letters
FDA Restructuring Human Foods Program; Update
FDA announced that it has begun a national search for a new Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods and is providing an update on last month’s proposed restructuring of the agency’s Human Foods Program and Office of Regulatory Affairs to enhance coordination, prevention and response activities. These updates include additional details about the proposed structure, status of activities and timeline for next steps.
FTC to Host Workshop on “Recyclable” Claims as Part of its Ongoing Review of the Agency’s Green Guides
The Federal Trade Commission will host a workshop on May 23, 2023, in Washington, DC, to examine “recyclable” adverting claims as part of its recently announced review of the Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims, commonly known as the Green Guides. The workshop, Talking Trash at the FTC: Recyclable Claims and the Green Guides, is free and open to the public, and pre-registration is not required.
FDA Advises Restaurants, Retailers and Consumers to Avoid Recalled Wild Harvest Oysters from Certain Areas in Florida
FDA is advising consumers not to eat, and restaurants and food retailers not to sell, and to dispose of recalled wild harvest oysters from FL-3012, Cedar Key, Florida, harvested between December 16, 2022, and February 24, 2023, due to possible Salmonella contamination. These oysters were sold in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. Consumers who purchased oysters after December 16, 2022, should check the packaging to see if they were wild harvest oysters from FL-3012, Cedar Key, Florida. Contaminated oysters can cause illness if eaten raw, particularly in people with compromised immune systems.
Proposed Establishment of the Crystal Springs of Napa Valley Viticultural Area
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) proposes to establish the approximately 4,000-acre “Crystal Springs of Napa Valley” American viticultural area (AVA) in Napa County, California. The proposed AVA is located entirely within the existing North Coast AVA and also entirely within the Napa Valley AVA.
FDA Expands Country-Wide Import Alert for Enoki Mushrooms to China
The FDA is expanding Import Alert (IA) #25-21 “Detention Without Physical Examination of Enoki Mushrooms from the Republic of Korea and China due to Listeria Monocytogenes,” to subject enoki mushrooms from China to detention without physical examination to further protect public health. Previously, this IA only included enoki mushrooms from the Republic of Korea.
Food Standards; General Principles and Food Standards Modernization; Withdrawal of Proposed Rule
FDA and FSIS are announcing the withdrawal of the proposed rule entitled “General Principles and Food Standards Modernization,” which published in the Federal Register of May 20, 2005. FDA and FSIS are taking this action in response to comments received in 2005 and in 2020 after FDA reopened the comment period for the proposed rule.
Outbreak Investigation of Salmonella: Sprouts (December 2022)
FDA along with the CDC and state and local partners, investigated a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium infections linked to Sun Sprouts-brand alfalfa sprouts grown by SunSprout Enterprises of Fremont, NE. As of February 28, 2023, CDC announced that the outbreak is over. CDC reports a total of 63 illnesses in eight states. The last illness onset was February 2, 2023.
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service Foreign Audit Report: United Kingdom
FSIS maintains a list of comprehensive audits of foreign country inspection systems to ensure compliance with certain regulatory requirements. The United Kingdom has been added to this list.
Sampling Verification Activities for Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli in Raw Beef Products; Revision
This directive provides instructions to inspection program personnel for collecting and submitting samples of raw beef products under FSIS’s routine and follow-up sampling programs for Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli and for updating the Public Health Information System profile information related to sampling. Fundamental changes in sampling procedures have been made in this revision. Read the changes here.
Meeting of the Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee
In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, the AMS, USDA, is announcing a meeting of the Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee. This meeting is being convened to examine the full spectrum of fruit and vegetable industry issues and provide recommendations and ideas on how USDA can tailor programs and services to better meet the needs of the U.S. produce industry.
Innophos, Inc.; Filing of Color Additive Petition
FDA is announcing that we have filed a petition, submitted by Innophos, Inc., proposing that the color additive regulations be amended to provide for the safe use of tricalcium phosphate in poultry (chicken thigh), icing, white chocolate candy melts, doughnut sugar, and sugar for coated candies.
FSIS Expansion of Generic Label Approval
FSIS will host the third of multiple webinars on March 7, 2023, 1-2:15 p.m. ET to discuss the January 2023 Final Rule Prior Label Approval System: Expansion of Generic Label Approval that will become effective on March 20, 2023. The webinars will highlight the changes to the categories of labels which require approval by the Labeling and Program Delivery Staff as well as the new categories of labels which are may now be generically approved once the rule becomes effective.
The webinars will be held on Microsoft Teams. Pre-registration for the webinars is not required. To access the labeling webinars, please visit the events & meetings page on the FSIS website.
FDA CORE Outbreak Investigation Status Update
This week’s updates are:
- A new outbreak of hepatitis A virus infections (ref # 1143) linked to a not yet identified product has been added to the table. FDA has initiated traceback.
- For the outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes (ref # 1123), FDA has initiated an onsite inspection, sample collection, and analysis. This investigation is ongoing and additional information will be provided as it become available.
- The outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium (ref # 1137) linked to alfalfa sprouts has ended and the FDA investigation is closed.
FSIS Updates Lists of Foreign Establishments Eligible to Export to U.S.
- No New Updates
FDA Import Alerts
The latest FDA import alerts include imported food products that appear to be misbranded, food products that are or contain unsafe food additives, food products due to the presence of salmonella, and more.
FDA Warning Letters
Kingdom Tobacco LLC |
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act/Adulterated/Misbranded |
Azure Tobacco, Inc. |
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act/Adulterated/Misbranded |
VaVaVape |
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act/Adulterated/Misbranded |
RDM Express Inc. |
Seafood HACCP/CGMP for Foods/Adulterated/Insanitary Conditions |
Titans Global Inc. |
Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) |
Corporate Essentials LLC |
Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) |
Rich River Produce, LLC |
Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) |
Dotmod, Inc. |
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act/Adulterated/Misbranded |
Compass Logistics, LLC |
Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) |
DELIIMPORTS, LLC |
Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) |