U.S. Agencies Announce Actions on Organics, NPIP, Hazard Analyses

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a number of developments in their work on organic food, poultry and food safety.

• FDA released an update on the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), announcing it will track outcomes for FSMA rules for inspections and recalls via the Food Safety Dashboard. One metric the agency will track is how quickly a company issues a public notice for a Class 1 recall for human and animal food.
• FDA has also released guidance on recall plans for its multipart guidance on “how to comply with the requirements for hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls under our rule entitled ‘Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food.’”
• USDA updated the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) Program Standards to incorporate proposed changes published in April 2019, including the amendment of the testing protocol for Mycoplasma, amending Salmonella isolation procedures and updating hatching egg and hatchery sanitation.
• USDA announced the results of the 2019 sunset review process for the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances, including the renewal of several materials. The notice also indicated that the National Organic Standards Board recommended vitamin B1, oxytocin, procaine and konjac flour for removal, but any removal determinations will be addressed in a separate rulemaking.