With the Presidential election behind us, the new Biden Administration continues to fill key food safety and policy positions within USDA and FDA. To date, however, we have not yet witnessed the rollout of any significant new food safety or regulatory policy announcements. Will they be coming? If so, what will they look like? Time will tell. But, in the short term, everything will come down to timing.
Indeed, we likely haven’t heard yet about any new earth-moving policy changes because the new administration is still settling in, and implementation of any such policies will take time. We also know that USDA and FDA, by most accounts, remain significantly understaffed (especially with COVID constraints), and it will take time to fully staff the agencies. Until the pandemic is fully under control and existing staffing issues are resolved, we are not likely to see significant policy announcements related to food safety. With that said, however, a recent hire may shed light on where things are heading.