Allison Condra at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Flurry of Activity from FDA in the First Four Months of 2025

It is an understatement to say the last four months have been a whirlwind. Cabinet confirmations, executive orders, policy changes, and more, including some developments that impact (or that will impact) the food industry...more

4/28/2025 / Food and Drug Administration (FDA) , Food Labeling , Food Manufacturers , Food Safety , Government Agencies , New Guidance , New Regulations , Proposed Rules , Regulatory Reform , Regulatory Requirements

New Administration Outlook: Four Food Industry Insights, From RFK to FDA and SNAP to Tariffs

With the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of Health and Human Services, as well as Brooke Rollins as secretary of the Department of Agriculture, key leadership impacting the nation's food supply is changing...more

2/20/2025 / Department of Agriculture , Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) , Executive Orders , Food and Drug Administration (FDA) , Food Safety , Public Health , Regulatory Agenda , School Lunch Programs , SNAP Program , Tariffs

FDA's Definition of "Healthy" … Updated Just in Time for New Year's Resolutions

After years of talk, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in mid-December 2024 at last finalized an updated definition of the implied nutrient content claim "healthy." The original definition of "healthy" dates back to the...more

1/14/2025 / Beverage Manufacturers , Compliance , Congressional Review Act , Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) , Final Rules , Food and Drug Administration (FDA) , Food Manufacturers , Labeling , Regulatory Agenda , Rulemaking Process

FTC Issues FAQs To Clarify Recently Finalized Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials

Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued guidance in the form of FAQs on its recently finalized Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (the "Rule"), which Rule took effect on October 21,...more

12/3/2024 / Disclosure Requirements , Fake Reviews , Federal Trade Commission (FTC) , Final Rules , FTC Endorsement Guidelines , Liability , Misrepresentation , New Guidance , Online Reviews , Social Media , Testimonial Statements

The New Frontier of Regenerative Agriculture Certifications

Regenerative agriculture certifications and label claims are on the rise. While USDA "organic" certifications may be familiar to industry and consumers, these newer, private certifications may have less recognition. This post...more

9/11/2024 / Certifications , Food Labeling , Licensing Rules , Marketing , Organic , USDA

Claims Must Be Substantiated — It Seems So Obvious, but the Who, What, Where, and How Is Not Always So Clear

When we talk about advertising claims (e.g., on product labels, websites, social, etc.), we stress that "claims must be truthful, not misleading, and substantiated." The requirements to be "truthful and not misleading" seem...more

3/28/2024 / Advertising , Clinical Trials , Evidence , False Advertising , Federal Industry Standards , Federal Trade Commission (FTC) , FTC Act , Misleading Statements , Substantial Evidence Standard , Unfair Competition

Where Does Your Food Come From? The FDA Really Wants to Know

In November 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") finalized a rule imposing additional recordkeeping requirements for certain foods to "help the Agency rapidly and effectively identify recipients of foods to...more

2/5/2024 / Compliance , Food and Drug Administration (FDA) , New Rules , Recordkeeping Requirements , Supply Chain

9th Circuit Revives BOOST Glucose Control False Advertising Lawsuit

On December 13, 2023, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit overturned the District Court's dismissal of Nestle Healthcare Nutrition Inc.'s consumer false advertising claims and remanded the case to the District Court for...more

1/3/2024 / Ambiguous , Beverage Manufacturers , Class Action , False Advertising , Food Labeling , Food Marketing , Misleading Impressions , Product Labels

A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: Aspirational Claims in Advertising Can Be Misleading, Too

The end of a year and the beginning of a new one can be a time of reflection and a time for thinking about the future and what it may hold. It is a time for making lists of resolutions, goals, and aspirations...more

12/27/2023 / Advertising , Advertising Substantiation , Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) , Enforcement Actions , Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) , Federal Trade Commission (FTC) , Green Guides , Misleading Statements , NAD , Social Media

So You Want to Advertise Your ESG Efforts? Let's Talk.

Your company has an ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) mission. It could be as (seemingly) simple as using renewable energy in production, sourcing eco-friendly materials or, more broadly, coming up with a "more...more

12/18/2023 / Advertising , Carbon Emissions , CFTC , Enforcement Actions , Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) , Federal Trade Commission (FTC) , Greenwashing , NAD , Net Zero , Proposed Legislation , Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) , Sustainability

FDA Issues Small Entity Compliance Guidance for Yogurt Standard of Identity

SOI sets new requirements for labels and ingredients, including for minimum dairy amount and bacterial cultures; compliance deadline is January 1, 2024 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the availability...more

12/8/2023 / Final Rules , Food and Drug Administration (FDA) , Food Labeling , Food Manufacturers , New Guidance , Nutrition Facts Labels

Real MEAT Act Reintroduced in Congress

Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a cattle rancher and member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, thinks alternative protein products deceive Americans by imitating real meat. To address this issue, she has reintroduced the Real...more

12/5/2023 / Enforcement Actions , Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) , Food and Drug Administration (FDA) , Product Labels , Proposed Legislation

FDA Releases Draft Guidance for Cosmetic Facility Registration and Product Listing

Over half a year after Congress passed a law modernizing the regulation of cosmetics in the U.S. (the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act or "MoCRA"), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") has released draft...more

8/23/2023 / Cosmetics , Draft Guidance , Food and Drug Administration (FDA) , Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA) , Product Labels , Registration

Animal-Raising Claims: More Stringent USDA Oversight Is Likely

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recently announced a multi-step effort to strengthen oversight of animal-raising claims. Animal-raising claims are voluntary marketing claims about meat and poultry...more

7/27/2023 / Antibiotics , Farm Animals , Food and Drug Administration (FDA) , Food Safety , Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) , USDA

In a One, Two, Three Punch, the FTC Issues Updated Endorsement Guides

The lead-up to the July Fourth holiday was a busy time for endorsement and testimonial watchers—the FTC issued (i) its final, updated Guides to the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, (ii) an updated version...more

7/10/2023 / Advertising , Compliance , Disclosure Requirements , Endorsements , Fake Reviews , Federal Trade Commission (FTC) , FTC Act , FTC Endorsement Guidelines , Guidance Update , Marketing , Misleading Statements , Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) , Online Reviews , Promotional Items , Proposed Rules , Testimonial Statements

Salty No More: FDA's Potential to Shake Up Hundreds of Standards of Identity

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says Americans consume too much sodium from processed foods. The FDA has issued a proposed rule to amend certain of its standards of identity (SOIs) to allow the use of salt...more

5/10/2023 / Food and Drug Administration (FDA) , Food Manufacturers , Food Safety , Proposed Rules

New Penalty Offense Letters Remind Marketers That Health Claims Require Robust Substantiation

On April 13, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") announced the issuance of what is now the fourth round of Notice of Penalty Offense Letters, this time to approximately 670 companies involved in the marketing of drugs,...more

4/14/2023 / Advertising , Dietary Supplements , Federal Trade Commission (FTC) , Health Claims , Marketing

Making Sense of FDA's Draft Guidance on Plant-Based Milk Alternatives

In February, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued draft guidance describing its "current view" of how companies should name plant-based foods marketed and sold as alternatives to milk. In this hotly contested...more

4/11/2023 / Dairy Farmers , Draft Guidance , Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) , Food & Drug Regulations , Food and Drug Administration (FDA) , Food Manufacturers , Food Products . , Food Safety , Plant Based Products

A Makeover for the Cosmetic Industry: Legal Style

On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (H.R. 2617), which by its name does not appear to have anything to do with cosmetics. However, buried in the approximately 1,650...more

4/11/2023 / Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) , Cosmetics , Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) , Food and Drug Administration (FDA) , Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA) , Personal Care Products , PFAS , Public Health , Regulatory Reform , Regulatory Standards , Retail Market

L.A. County Issues COVID-19 Guidance for Retail Food Facilities

Update April 13: This blog has been updated to reflect additional L.A. county guidance for retail food facilities. On April 9, 2020, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued guidance to assist retail food...more

4/13/2020 / Coronavirus/COVID-19 , Food Service Workers , Health and Safety , Operators of Essential Services , Public Health , Restaurant Industry , Retailers , Workplace Safety

New FDA COVID-19 Food Safety Guidelines

On March 23, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released new guidance for the food and beverage industry in light of COVID-19. ...more

3/26/2020 / Coronavirus/COVID-19 , Food and Drug Administration (FDA) , Food Safety , Infectious Diseases

FDA Announces Temporary Changes to Onsite Audit Obligations Under FSMA for Receiving Facilities and FSVP Importers

On March 17, 2020, in light of the ongoing global public health emergency and associated travel restrictions, the FDA announced a temporary policy adjustment for food facilities with certain supplier verification obligations...more

3/19/2020 / Coronavirus/COVID-19 , Food and Drug Administration (FDA) , Food Safety , Food Supply , Foreign Suppliers , FSMA , FSVP , Importers

Supreme Court Expands Application of Exemption for Business Data under Freedom of Information Act

Rejecting a standard that had governed lower courts for 45 years, the U.S. Supreme Court has made it easier for federal agencies to protect companies’ commercial information from public disclosure under the Freedom of...more

9/30/2019 / Confidential Information , FOIA , Food Marketing Institute v Argus Leader Media , Reversal , SNAP Program , USDA

Supreme Court Expands Application of Exemption for Business Data Under FOIA