Articles by Brett Schwemer

On May 1, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) began the next phase of its nationwide Raw Pork Products Exploratory Sampling Project (RPPESP). The purpose of the project is to determine the prevalence of pathogens in pork and use this data to “inform food safety policies.”

Establishments regulated by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) frequently face the dilemma on whether to appeal agency decisions that could have a negative impact on their businesses.

On Jan. 30, 2017, President Donald Trump issued an executive order (EO) intended to reduce regulatory burdens on businesses. The EO directs federal agencies to repeal at least two regulations for every new regulation.

On Dec. 20, 2016, the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) published a three-part rulemaking package, the “Farmer Fair Practices Rules,” in the Federal Register.

The proposed rule is intended to harmonize FSIS’ nutrition facts labeling requirements with the final nutrition labeling regulations published by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May 2016.

On Nov. 4, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) released its Strategic Plan for 2017-2021, which outlines the agency's goals for the next five years.

In recent meetings with industry, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has been sharing how the agency will continue to use whole genome sequencing (WGS) to help meet its public health mission.

In recent meetings with industry leaders, Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) officials announced several new labeling initiatives.

In a recent meeting with industry representatives, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced it will soon provide more information to establishments regarding the agency’s sampling programs.

On June 8, FSIS issued Notice 40-16, “Questionnaire on Consumer Complaints Involving Foreign Material.”