The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) most recent update of its Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulation Actions was published on January 25, 2024. The latest version of the Unified Agenda gives a target date of April 2024, for publishing a rule to amend the food additive regulations to allow a Food Contact Substance Notification (FCN) to become no longer effective for reasons other than safety.

U.S. Senate bill S. 3387, “Ensuring Safe and Toxic-Free Foods Act of 2023,” would prohibit independent Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) designations and create an Office of Food Chemical Safety, Dietary Supplements, and Innovation. The bill was introduced by Senators Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) on December 4, 2023.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled on November 7, 2023, that California cannot require cancer warning labels for glyphosate under Proposition 65. The ruling, in National Association of Wheat Growers et al. v.

The European Commission (EC) has launched six consultations in relation to legislative proposals on materials in contact with drinking water. The legislative proposals, which are planned for adoption in the first quarter of 2024, and a brief description are listed below.

What are the requirements concerning conditions of use for substances listed in Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) Part 177.1520? More...

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a revised unreasonable risk determination that preliminarily concluded that polyethylene terephthalate (PET) manufacturing contributes to an overall unreasonable risk from 1,4-dioxane, with respect to occupational and drinking water exposures.

Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), along with Senators Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Warren (D-Mass.), introduced the “Ensuring Safe and Toxic-Free Foods Act of 2022” on May 26, 2022. S. 4316 would direct the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make several changes to its 2016 Substances Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) rule and to establish a new division within FDA to reassess the safety of food additives and food contact substances.

The Consolidated Appropriation Act, 2022 (H.R.2471) was signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 15, 2022. The $1.5 trillion omnibus appropriations bill will fund the government through FY 2022.  Of significance, the bill does not include a line item ensuring funding for the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Food Contact Notification (FCN) program.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued final guidance on ways to prepare, plan, and work with the Agency to ensure that voluntary recalls are initiated properly and in a timely manner. On March 4, 2022, FDA published a notice regarding the Agency’s issuance of Final Guidance on Initiation of Voluntary Recalls Under 21 CFR Part 7, Subpart C. The guidance applies to voluntary recalls of all FDA-regulated products.