Civil Law

Committee hears about issues with meat inspections at UK border

Politicians have called for funding to be maintained for meat inspections after hearing evidence on the scale of products being seized at the border.

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee examined biosecurity measures for animal and plant imports to the UK. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is responsible for product of animal origin imports. 

The committee has written to Sue Hayman, Defra Minister for biosecurity and borders, to request a timeline of the agency’s response to … Read the rest

Civil Law

Leadership, accountability and the toxic baby food crisis

— OPINION —

The toxic baby food crisis is not just a failure in public health. It is a defining moral challenge for an industry entrusted with the most sacred responsibility: nourishing our children.

For years, warnings about heavy metals like lead, arsenic, and cadmium, coupled with pathogens such as Cronobacter sakazakii, have sounded loudly, only to be met with insufficient action. The public’s trust has been steadily undermined by corporate inertia and regulatory gaps that prioritize short-term profits over long-term … Read the rest

Civil Law

A new foodborne illness benchmark, just in time for ‘shock and awe’

— OPINION —

For nearly a decade and a half, food safety advocates like me have recited CDC’s 2011 foodborne illness estimates: 3,000 deaths. 128,000 hospitalizations. 48 million illnesses (1 in every 6 Americans).

At long last, CDC has provided us with an update to these estimates, or they have provided an update to the Government Accountability Office, which has provided us with an update because, as an independent, nonpartisan government agency within the legislative branch, GAO has not been … Read the rest

Civil Law

Legislators want the FDA to be able to test samples from feed lots during outbreaks

Two U.S. legislators have introduced a bill that would give the FDA the ability to collect microbial samples at feed lots during foodborne illness outbreaks.

Representative Rosa DeLauro, D-CT, and Sen. Cory Booker, D-NJ, want the Food and Drug Administration to be able to investigate foodborne illness outbreaks, or when there is a public need, involving crops that are close to concentrated animal feeding operations (CFAOs). They say the investigative tool is also needed because of the spread of bird … Read the rest

Civil Law

FDA steps up enforcement of import laws against pet treats, cilantro and more

The Food and Drug Administration uses import alerts to enforce U.S. food safety regulations for food from foreign countries. The agency updates and modifies the alerts as needed.

Recent modifications to FDA’s import alerts, as posted by the agency, are listed below.

Click here to go to the FDA page with links to details on specific alerts.

Import Alert Number Import Alert Type Publish Date Import Alert Name
99-42 DWPE 01/30/2025 DETENTION WITHOUT PHYSICAL EXAMINATION OF FOODS DUE TO HEAVY
… Read the rest
Civil Law

UK FCA Letter Expresses Concerns About Fund Service Providers

In late 2024, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a “Dear CEO” letter related to the FCA’s “Custody and Fund Services Supervision Strategy.” The letter shares the FCA’s expectations of UK FCA-authorised firms that act as custodians, depositories, and administrators in the funds sector. Importantly the letter also highlights some of the regulatory risks and topics fund managers should be reviewing as part of their due diligence before selecting service providers for their funds, irrespective of whether the … Read the rest

Civil Law

Further UK warnings about additives in American snacks

Devon County Council has become the latest authority to warn about the safety of American snacks, sweets and fizzy drinks.

Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service, which covers Devon, Plymouth, Somerset, and Torbay, said imported sweets not approved for sale are increasingly being seen in shops across the region.

Officers have carried out unannounced inspections of stores looking for non-compliant sweets, cereals, bakery goods, snacks and canned/carbonated drinks. They identified and removed products containing unauthorized additives or with non-compliant … Read the rest

Civil Law

Government Accountability Office finds problems with FDA inspection rates

In response to a report from the Government Accountability Office, the FDA says the biggest stumbling block to conducting inspections of food facilities is understaffing.

The Food and Drug Administration hasn’t met targets for inspections of domestic and foreign food facilities since 2018, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The FDA is responsible for 80 percent of the U.S. food supply, including domestic and imported food.

The FDA conducted thousands of routine surveillance food safety inspections of domestic and … Read the rest