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In an October 19 invite-only media roundtable and written statement, James (Jim) Jones, the first Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), revealed his priorities for forging a new, unified Human Foods Program. Significantly, amid the wave of state legislators aiming to ban possibly harmful food additives, Jones stated his intent to more closely address the issue, beginning with brominated vegetable oil. 

A recent assessment conducted by the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) and funded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (­FDA) has provided a better understanding of NEHA-FDA Retail Flexible Funding Model Grant Program (RFFM) distribution based on social needs. RFFM provides funding to state, local, tribal, and territorial retail food regulatory agencies as they achieve and advance conformance with FDA’s Retail Program Standards.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture recently signed a memorandum of understanding, entering the agencies into a partnership agreement to set the foundation for domestic mutual reliance and an integrated food safety system in Pennsylvania. 

Starting in 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began to include new restrictions in new Food Contact Notifications on the use of food contact substances for infant applications. Recently, FDA has hosted webinars to present information on regulatory requirements and considerations for infant formula ingredients and packaging. This article will discuss the history and current efforts by FDA to ensure the safety of infant formula, especially pertaining to food contact substances used in packaging.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated its infant formula compliance program, which outlines the agency’s approach to inspections, sample collection, sample analysis, and compliance activities for FDA personnel, with a focus on Cronobacter and Salmonella contamination.

The updated Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance (FSPCA) Preventive Controls for Human Food curriculum provides small and midsized companies a better understanding of how to develop a food safety plan through the use of examples for implementation, with a clear demonstration that the Preventive Controls regulation is a HACCP-based system.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently released a video outlining the general process for importing human foods into the U.S.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has released a statement about the possibility of a government shutdown and the risks it would pose to food safety in the U.S., specifically through the halting of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspections. 

FDA has announced two updates for Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) rules: the finalization of a draft guidance for sprout operations under the Produce Safety Rule and additional information about Food Traceability Final Rule (also known as FSMA 204) inspections and FDA’s Product Tracing System. 

To address the trend of food manufacturers intentionally adding sesame to food products that did not originally contain the allergen in an attempt to circumvent allergen cross-contact requirements, FDA has updated its draft guidance for industry on hazards analysis and preventive controls with a new chapter on avoiding allergen cross-contact and proper labeling.