Inspection

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Working toward an Integrated Food Safety System, by 2030, FDA expects the Better Regulatory Inspections for Dynamic Government Efficiency (BRIDGE) Project to accomplish a more coordinated, data-driven model for domestic food safety oversight across federal and state systems.

FDA’s Human Foods Program specifically would receive a significant increase in funding compared to the previous fiscal year (FY), including $25 million to help address chemical contaminants and additives like PFAS, toxic heavy metals, and GRAS ingredients.

The changes affect registration and licensing rules for food business operators, including specific reforms for street vendor registration, that aim to simplify compliance and reduce regulatory burden. A new technology-enabled, risk-based inspection system has also been introduced.

Every food processor, food handler, or other food operator under FDA jurisdiction should have a program in place to deal with an FDA inspection. This column explains what this program should include and how to work with FDA investigators during an inspection.

Establishments operating under the New Swine Slaughter Inspection System (NSIS) would be allowed to determine their own line speeds, and New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS) establishment line speeds would be raised.

Although food safety spending cuts were associated with local authority staffing reductions and decreases in the number of official food hygiene interventions, industry compliance was not negatively affected.

USDA-FSIS has reissued its guidance on testing for Listeria species other than Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat (RTE) food production facilities to reflect expansions made to the agency’s testing method and enforcement actions.

In a new report, the EU Court of Auditors say control systems for olive oil are “comprehensive but unevenly applied,” with some Member States inconsistently conducting contamination, authenticity, and traceability checks.

FDA recently released a warning letter dated September 5, 2025, issued to Fresh and Ready Foods LLC, a ready-to-eat (RTE) foods producer that was implicated in a multi-state, multi-year listeriosis outbreak.

Clostridium botulinum-contaminated ByHeart-brand formula has sickened at least 23 babies across 13 states. FDA inspection reports and warning letters have come to light showing a history of food safety and hygiene violations at the company’s production facilities.