Food Safety

The HHS Office of Inspector General says FDA's food recall initiation process is inefficient, ineffective and compromises the safety of the nation's food supply, according to a preliminary report released Thursday (June 9).

FDA recently finalized guidance on medical foods that excludes diabetes, saying there are no distinctive nutritional requirements for people with diabetes.

FDA released draft voluntary guidelines Wednesday (June 1) for food manufacturers and national restaurant chains to voluntarily reduce sodium content in their products to help people bring down their daily sodium intake to 2,300 mg per day.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) filed legislation in their respective chambers to create uniform date labels on food products in order to help clear up confusion among consumers and reduce food waste.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a wide-ranging report Tuesday (May 17) that among its many findings says there is no scientifically justifiable reason to mandate labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods although there might be societal reasons, as voluntary labeling doesn't benefit consumers.

FDA says new sales data it is requiring from antimicrobial drug sponsors will help the agency determine whether it might be necessary to withdraw, or partially withdraw, approval of a drug.

The House Appropriations Committee passed an FDA spending bill Tuesday (April 19) that hikes funding for food safety oversight, inserts a handful of provisions from the House-passed 21st Century Cures bill, slates $10 million for FDA to combat Zika and Ebola outbreaks, and prevents FDA from limiting sodium in food until bodies outside the agency write dietary reference intake reports.

FDA released a long-awaited final rule on sanitary transportation of human and animal food Tuesday (April 5) that includes a number of changes in response to stakeholder concerns: The agency included new temperature control language, excluded farm transportation, added “loaders” as a covered party and removed molluscan shellfish from the live food animals exemption.

FDA on Friday laid the groundwork for the largest allocation of funds -- $19 million -- to help state agencies enforce new produce safety rule, and large food processors and grocers are urging Congress to give FDA even more money for food safety efforts.