As previously discussed on this blog, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a public meeting on September 27, 2019, to give interested parties an opportunity to discuss FDA’s effort to modernize food standards of identity (SOI).  On February 20, 2020, FDA announced it plans to reopen the comment period on a 2005 proposed rule (which had initially been jointly published with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)) to establish a set of general principles for FDA to use when considering whether to establish, revise, or eliminate a food SOI. 

FDA is reopening the comment period to receive new data, information, and further comments only on FDA-specific aspects of the 2005 proposed rule (including 13 general principles for food standards modernization); however, FDA has indicated it will continue to engage with USDA before finalizing the proposed rule.

Food SOIs are regulatory requirements related to the content and production of certain food products such as milk (as previously discussed on this blog, FDA is particularly evaluating the use of the term, “milk,” in labeling plant-based products), bread, jam, and chocolate.  As previously discussed on this blog, with the development of new types of food products and updated nutritional science, FDA is reconsidering SOIs as part of its Nutrition Innovation Strategy (NIS).

Written/electronic comments will be accepted for 60 days following the date of publication in the Federal Register.