Food Safety

FDA soon will release a temporary policy allowing manufacturers and restaurants with food that does not comply with FDA’s nutrition facts labeling requirements to divert those foods to retail stores during the COVID-19 outbreak, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response Frank Yiannas said during a Food and Drug Law Institute virtual conference on Thursday (March 26).

FDA on Tuesday (March 10) officially reopened its April 2019 cannabidiol comment docket on Regulations.gov in order to gather up-to-date information on CBD as it crafts regulations and determines whether to allow the compound to be used in consumer products, including foods and dietary supplements.

A senior policy advisor for FDA told Inside Health Policy the agency hopes its newly developed method for collecting and analyzing data on genetic alteration in animals intended for human consumption will allow the agency to eventually scale back its regulation of genetically modified animals.

Members of the House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee discussed myriad food-focused bills, including proposals to ban perfluorinated substances (PFAS) from foods, prevent non-dairy products from being labeled as milk and add sesame to the list of major allergens -- at a hearing last Wednesday (Jan. 30).

The Mexican government could soon change its food-labeling standards to mandate front-of-package labels for all prepackaged food and nonalcoholic beverages, which the United States and other countries say could run afoul of Mexico’s international trade obligations.

FDA on Thursday (Jan. 9) launched a biotechnology regulation website in collaboration with U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency that is intended to streamline information from the three agencies charged with overseeing agriculture biotechnology products.

Stephen Hahn, shortly after being sworn in as FDA commissioner on Tuesday (Dec. 17), emailed FDA staff that he’s optimistic about continuing to advance FDA’s talent, expertise and infrastructure, and said he will adhere to sound data and uphold the law.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced a bill on Thursday (Nov. 21) that would boost the government’s ability to find the origin of foodborne illnesses by giving FDA authority to oversee concentrated animal feeding operations, coming amid another E. coli outbreak linked to romaine Lettuce.

As the end of Ned Sharpless’ tenure as acting FDA chief approaches, former agency chief Scott Gottlieb and a policy analyst predict potential hold-ups in any upcoming commissioner confirmation process.