Although much of the United States had been shut down at presstime, to slow the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the country is depending on food manufacturers, distributors and grocery stores to stay in operation. Although this situation is rapidly evolving, we thought it would be useful to share what we have learned so far in terms of how federal regulatory authorities are responding to the pandemic.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) remains committed to ensuring there are no disruptions in inspection services during the outbreak. The agency has a pandemic response plan in place that it has recently updated in light of COVID-19.