Food Safety

Weeks before lawmakers increased funding for government regulators’ activities to fight antibiotic resistance, a group of research and policy organizations, producers and purchasers urged congressional leadership for agriculture and FDA appropriations to include funding in the 2016 spending bill to improve monitoring of antimicrobial drug use in food-producing animals, evaluate new antibiotics and streamline antibiotic development.

A provision of the House spending package released Wednesday (Dec. 16) bars FDA from implementing its controversial menu labeling rule until one year after the agency finalizes guidance, unless that guidance comes before the current implementation date.

The Senate health committee hopes to hold an executive session in early January to vote on Robert Califf's nomination to head FDA, a congressional aide tells Inside Health Policy. Committee Chair Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said in September that Califf has impressive credentials and the committee would move promptly to consider his nomination, but two senators recently said they would attempt to block the nomination over HHS policy issues.

Senate agriculture committee Chair Pat Roberts (R-KS) is championing draft language requiring a national labeling standard for genetically-modified organisms for inclusion in the spending package lawmakers are trying to pass by Dec. 11, according to a spokesperson for food manufacturing lobbyist Grocery Manufacturers Association.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) will attempt to block the pending nomination of Robert Califf as commissioner of FDA over the agency's recent approval of genetically engineered fish, according to a statement released on Nov. 23.

FDA lays out in newly released guidance documents why it will not mandate unique labeling for genetically engineered foods, and why it prefers manufacturers not use the terms genetically modified and genetically modified organism in any voluntary labeling.

FDA approved AquaBounty Technologies' genetically engineered AquaAdvantage Salmon Thursday (Nov. 19), making it the first genetically modified animal sold for food in the United States.

Robert Califf told senators Tuesday that supporting FDA’s workforce would be his first priority if he is confirmed as the agency's commissioner.

FDA unveiled its final rule on accreditation of third-party certification bodies to conduct food safety audits and to issue certifications for foreign food suppliers with relatively few changes to the proposed rule issued in July 2013.