USDA Updates: FSIS Proposes Significant Updates to Generic Label Approval Oversight, and Finalizes Rules on Modernizing Egg Inspection

USDA Updates: FSIS Proposes Significant Updates to Generic Label Approval Oversight, and Finalizes Rules on Modernizing Egg Inspection

September 15, 2020, Covington Alert

The first half of September has seen two major regulatory updates from USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). First, on September 14, 2020, FSIS published a proposed rule to expand the circumstances under which FSIS will generically approve the labels of meat, poultry, and egg products, which specifically proposes that FSIS will cease evaluating generically approved labels submitted to FSIS for review. Second, on September 9, 2020, FSIS released a final rule modernizing the Agency’s egg inspection requirements, the first such update to the Agency’s egg product inspection methods since Congress passed the Egg Products Inspection Act in 1970. The final rule aims to more closely align food safety, labeling, and import requirements for egg products with those for meat and poultry products, and expands generic label approval eligibility to egg products. The final rule additionally shifts jurisdiction over egg substitutes and freeze-dried egg products from FDA to FSIS.