The Office of Management and Budget has approved a Food and Drug Administration final rule entitled, "Bottled Water Quality Standard; Establishing an Allowable Level for di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP)."
On October 13, 2011, the Food and Drug Administration posted revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
On October 12, 2011, the Food and Drug Administration posted revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
The Food and Drug Administration has added a new frequently asked question related to prevention to its FAQ document on the Food Safety Modernization Act. The question asks whether there is an official checklist for manufacturers to prepare for compliance with the FSMA hazard analysis and preventive control requirements for food and feed facilities. FDA explains that it is still in the process of developing regulations to implement this requirement. Once those regulations are finalized, it will prepare guidance documents as appropriate to assist manufacturers.
The European Council has adopted a new regulation on food labeling rules aimed at ensuring that food labels carry essential information in a clear and legible way. The rules include, among other things, specific requirements for mandatory food information, extended compulsory country of origin labeling for meats, etc. The new rules will replace various EU Directives and Regulations with a single regulation.
At the request of the Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Marshals seized food products held at the food storage and processing facility of Dominguez Foods of Washington, Inc., in Zillah, Washington, on September 30, 2011. The food had been the subject of a detention order issued by FDA on September 2, 2011, following an FDA inspection of the facility that found evidence of widespread and active rodent and insect infestation.
On October 11, 2011, the Food and Drug Administration posted revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
The Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food Safety and Inspection Service, the Agricultural Research Service, and the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion are announcing a November 10, 2011 public meeting on approaches to reducing sodium consumption. The purpose of this meeting is to provide interested persons an opportunity to discuss the topics raised in an earlier FDA and FSIS notice announcing the establishment of dockets to obtain information on this topic. Comments, data, and evidence for FDA and FSIS' dockets are due by November 29, 2011. To attend the meeting onsite or via Web cast, register here by November 3. Registration is free and will be on a first-come, first-served basis. CFSAN Constituent Update on the meeting available here.
The Food and Drug Administration issued an update on its efforts to address questions from other countries on the Food Safety Modernization Act. Among other things, FDA has translated seven documents about FSMA requirements into Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Thai, and Hindi. The documents are available here.
The Environmental Protection Agency has issued a determination of acceptability, effective October 4, 2011, which expands the list of acceptable substitutes for ozone-depleting substances for use in the refrigeration and air conditioning, solvent cleaning, and fire suppression sectors under the EPA's Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program.