Tsunami of food regs will hit in 2014

By Ben Goad and Julian Hattem December 15, 2013

The coming year figures to be pivotal for food safety issues, as the Obama administration works to complete a host of regulations to shore up a system seen as exposing the American public to too many health risks.  In 2014, the Food and Drug Administration will push against a court-imposed deadline to finish a slate of rules reflecting the largest food safety overhaul in 70 years while also furthering plans to rid the food supply of trans fats, phase out the use of antibiotics in meat and launch new initiatives targeting sodium and caffeine.

Meanwhile, the high-stakes fight over genetically modified foods is expected to move from state legislatures around the country to Washington, where interests on both sides of the issue will push competing bills in Congress.

“2014 is going to be a pivotal time for the food movement, and a time when we’re going to see all these issues coming together,” said Colin O’Neil, director of government affairs for the Center for Food Safety. “2014 is going to be a big year for food politics.”  The centerpiece of the administration’s effort is a series of seven rules now being developed in accordance with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), signed into law almost three years ago.

The sweeping statute directs the FDA to replace decades-old policies designed to respond to illness outbreaks with a system set up to prevent them through new regulations at food production plants, warehouses and farms…..To Read More….