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    • FDA Announces Final Regulations on Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels and on Serving SizesMay 25th, 2016

      By Riëtte van Laack – On Friday the 20th of May, FDA announced the availability of the final regulations for nutrition labeling and serving sizes (in prepublication format).  The final regulations will be published in the Federal Register on May 27, 2016.  That date will be used …

    • FDA Issues Final Guidance for Medical Foods Largely Ignoring CommentsMay 16th, 2016

      By Riëtte van Laack – FDA announced the availability of the Final Guidance for Medical Foods: “Frequently Asked Questions About Medical Foods; Second Edition.” As we previously reported, in August 2013, FDA issued a draft guidance, updating the 2007 guidance for medical foods. In the 2013 draft …

    • FDA Sets Enforcement Date for Restaurant Menu (and Coupon!) LabelingMay 5th, 2016

      By Etan J. Yeshua – Today, FDA officially announced the availability of a final guidance document that answers questions about the Agency’s menu labeling rule. In doing so, FDA also set May 5, 2017 as the rule’s enforcement date. Although there are only a few differences …

    • FDA Finalizes Compliance Policy Guide: Pet Food Diets Intended for Sick Animals are Drugs but FDA will Exercise Enforcement Discretion under Limited CircumstancesMay 5th, 2016

      By Riëtte van Laack & Wes Siegner – Under the FDC Act, dog and cat food products that are intended to treat or prevent disease and to provide nutrients in support of the animal’s daily nutrient needs can be regulated as drugs or foods or both. …

    • Could Yogi Berra be Correct that “It Ain’t Over Til It’s Over”?; Supreme Court Decides Not to Review POM Wonderful v FTC CaseMay 2nd, 2016

      By Riëtte van Laack – Last year (October 2015), POM Wonderful LLC (POM) petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for review of the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (see our previous post here).  As we discussed, POM’s arguments in its …

    • FTC Dives into the “Natural” FrayApril 14th, 2016

      By Riëtte van Laack – As we have reported on several occasions, “natural claims,” particularly when used in the advertising of food and dietary supplements, are frequently challenged by competitors and consumers.  Neither the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDC Act), nor FDA regulations, nor …

    • FDA’s New Sanitary Transportation Regulations Focus on SafetyApril 12th, 2016

      By Riëtte van Laack – Last week, FDA issued the sixth of the seven major rules expected to issue under the authority of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), namely the final rule for Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food. Although FSMA directed FDA to …

    • The Long Swim Continues As Groups Sue FDA Over GE SalmonApril 4th, 2016

      By Jay W. Cormier – Just a little more than four months after FDA approved AquAdvantage Salmon (AAS) – the first genetically engineered (GE) animal intended for food use – several organizations filed suit against FDA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) challenging that approval.  Plaintiffs …

    • Food Importers: Wake Up!March 23rd, 2016

      By Ricardo Carvajal – That’s our take-away from FDA’s recent public meeting on the implementation of FSMA’s import provisions and the associated regulations (FSVP, VQIP, and Accredited Third Party Certification).  Several comments made at the meeting suggest that many importers may still be unaware of the advent …

    • District Court Dismisses PHO Lawsuit on Preemption GroundsMarch 15th, 2016

      By Ricardo Carvajal & JP Ellison – In a decision of significance in the realm of food additive regulation, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed a lawsuit targeting coffee-creamer products containing partially hydrogenated oil (PHO) on preemption grounds.  The complaint – …

    • New York City Sodium Rule Caught in Litigation is One of Many State and Federal Food Labeling Requirements Currently in LimboMarch 9th, 2016

      By Etan J. Yeshua – A regulation requiring restaurants in New York City to warn customers about menu items with high levels of sodium was set to take effect last week, but it is now the latest in a string of food labeling laws and regulations …

    • Fixing Erroneous FDA Guidance Can Take a Decade – and PersistenceMarch 7th, 2016

      By Wes Siegner – In April 2005, FDA published guidance for industry on dietary supplement labeling, “A Dietary Supplement Labeling Guide.”  As we wrote in 2009, an error in this guidance, stating that the term “dietary supplement” was not an acceptable statement of identity on its …

    • 48 Hours in New Orleans: Food, Drugs, and – Oh, Right – LawFebruary 21st, 2016

      By Ricardo Carvajal – The prompt was an invitation to speak at the 21st Annual Tulane Environmental Law and Policy Summit on the pros and cons of genetically engineered food animals, in the wake of FDA’s approval of AquAdvantage salmon as a new animal drug (a topic we’ve …

    • Something Fishy in the Appropriations Act: With GE Salmon, A Side of Smoke and MirrorsFebruary 18th, 2016

      By Ricardo Carvajal & Jay W. Cormier – In response to a Congressional directive buried in the 2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act (“the Appropriations Act”), FDA issued an Import Alert targeting “[a]ny shipment of suspected or known GE salmon or product composed in whole or in part of GE …

    • Chipotle and FDA’s ReachFebruary 11th, 2016

      By Ricardo Carvajal & JP Ellison – According to public communications by the restaurant chain Chipotle, the company has been served with subpoenas in a federal criminal investigation apparently arising out of one or more outbreaks of foodborne illness that appear to implicate certain of the …