Food Label News

December 2024 - Vol. 24, No. 23

Happy Holidays to all of you! In the midst of the busy holiday season, we can’t help but look ahead to the new year and what’s on the horizon for the food labeling industry. In that vein, we are highlighting FDA’s revamped Human Foods Program and their initiatives for 2025. We’re also sharing a glimpse into our Food Label Insiders community.

Wishing you a joyful holiday season and (properly labeled) seasonal treats!

In this issue:

FDA's 2025 Outlook
The Inside Scoop
Keeping You Current

Warmly,

Melissa Grzybowski, President, Food Consulting Company

"We have really enjoyed working with our Regulatory Specialist, Amy Slaughter, and Food Consulting Company over the years. It’s great knowing we can count on their team to provide helpful feedback in a timely manner when working through complex issues. Thank you so much for the continued partnership!"

- Lauren King, Labeling Compliance Program Manager, Amy’s Kitchen

Feature Article

FDA's 2025 Outlook

In October, FDA launched its reorganized Human Foods Program (HFP). Despite uncertainty in the incoming administration’s effect on FDA’s work, the agency has published their priorities for 2025. Heading into the new year, the agency plans to focus on three primary areas: microbiological food safety, nutrition, and food chemical safety. Highlights of the agency’s proposed deliverables include:

Microbiological Food Safety

Pre-harvest agricultural water: finalize and execute plans to reduce the likelihood of produce being contaminated with foodborne pathogens from water
Food traceability: implement the Food Traceability final rule, which aims to help FDA and the industry quickly identify and remove contaminated food products from the marketplace
FSMA guidance for industry: develop final guidance for the Produce Safety Rule and develop key resources to support follow-through of the Food Safety Modernization Act

Nutrition

“Healthy” nutrient content claim: publish a final rule defining the “healthy” claim; develop a proposed rule that would identify a healthy symbol, which manufacturers could voluntarily use on products meeting the “healthy” definition
Front-of-package (FOP) nutrition labeling: issue a proposed rule to establish a mandatory FOP labeling scheme to assist consumers in making informed decisions
Sodium reduction in the food supply: ongoing work on voluntary sodium reduction targets, finalize drafted Phase II targets, and finalize a draft rule on the use of salt substitutes
Nutrition research: partner with other federal agencies on developing and advancing nutrition research, including research on ultra-processed foods and poor health outcomes

Food Chemical Safety

Pre-market review of chemicals in food: review the current process for food and color additive submissions, food contact substances, and GRAS approvals; ensure alignment under the new HFP organizational structure
Post-market review of chemicals in food: ensure a risk-informed approach by updating the assessment framework based on public feedback; publish an updated list of substances targeted for re-assessment with projected timelines
Closer to zero action levels: establish action levels for environmental contaminants (including lead) in foods intended for infants and young children
New dietary ingredient notifications: expand final guidance on how and when manufacturers or distributors should submit new dietary ingredient notifications
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): work to better understand exposure to PFAS (chemicals that can enter the food supply through uptake in crops and animals grown or raised in contaminated areas) to help identify potential effects of PFAS through foods; guide collaboration with state and federal agency partners

In addition to these initiatives, the Human Foods Program is making further changes to their organizational structure to best support the HFP’s mission. The program’s strategic plan includes goals to:

Better align FDA food laboratories
Collaborate with other agencies and stakeholders to create an integrated workforce of inspectors
Establish a Human Foods Advisory committee
Modernize the food recall system and communications

You can review FDA’s complete Human Food Program FY 2025 Priority Deliverables on their website. In the meantime, you can count on us to keep you updated on FDA’s progress towards these initiatives in future issues of Food Label News.

The Inside Scoop

Check out what's happening on the Inside.

Our monthly Office Hours sessions always seem to fly by, filled with questions and insightful conversation. We love hearing what’s on our members minds and problem solving with one another. Within our community, our members have been discussing “natural flavors,” case labeling, and cooked vs. raw and “as packaged” vs. “as prepared” nutrition labeling.

Interested in joining these conversations, gaining exclusive access to an extensive library of resources, and building your professional community? We would love to have you join Food Label Insiders, our membership community for leaders in food labeling. Our next enrollment period is right around the corner in February 2025, so now is the perfect time to join our waitlist. You’ll be the first to hear enrollment details and will gain exclusive access to discounted early bird pricing!

I'M INTERESTED!