It has been over a month now since our next president was elected. And while there is plenty of chatter about what our new President has in store for his upcoming term, what is lacking are formal proposals coming from the soon-to-be 47th president. There are still more questions than answers about his agenda and a lot of armchair political quarterbacks continue to say, “where’s the beef?” Hopefully, a clearer picture will soon emerge as the approaching Trump administration takes shape.
What is in store for the food industry under a Trump administration? As some of the president-elect’s cabinet secretary nominations continue to get closely scrutinized, we are most interested in who will head up the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The critical issues these two agencies as well as the House and Senate will be addressing include: pending tax hikes, sharp tariff increases, the deportation of millions of undocumented workers, proposed rules for front-of-package nutritional labeling, food safety issues including an ongoing assessment of FDA’s post-market chemical review process, unhealthy and ultra-processed foods, heightened rhetoric about rising grocery prices and “shrinkflation”, competition in the meat industry, credit card “swipe fee” reform, and Women Infants and Children (WIC) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. That is quite an extensive list with additional issues to follow as newly elected officials in the executive and legislative branches flex their political muscles.
President-elect Trump made a big to do about grocery prices and many Americans will be looking to the 47th President to lower their grocery bills. That is a tall order and from what I have already read, many economists believe Trump’s plans, especially on implementing new tariffs on imported foods and deporting undocumented workers, could actually make food prices go up. Stay tuned.
The Latest Farm Bill Update
Now that we are officially in the midst of the “lame duck” session of Congress, Senate Agricultural Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) released her farm bill text on November 18 as farm bill crunch time approaches a December 31 deadline. Her efforts may turn into a “Hail Mary” pass before lawmakers add an extension to a year-end funding package. Also, Stabenow is departing Congress after not seeking re-election, so this is her last chance as a quarterback. You may recall that I previously mentioned in a prior commentary that Stabenow urged House Democrats to support her own farm bill framework over the House Republican version back in May, but she never released the actual text of her own bill till just recently. Now that she has released her version, House Ag Chair G.T. Thompson (R-PA) has something to pontificate. However, I doubt if either the House or the Senate will vote on a full farm bill before the 119th Congress convenes in January with its Republican majorities in both the Senate and the House. “We can’t go past December 31,” said Thompson “so I think we’re ready for an extension.”
Politico News seemed to agree with this assessment as they reported that “the more likely scenario is that lawmakers add a one-year farm bill extension to a federal funding stop-gap measure or tack it on to another piece of legislation before the end of the year.” And, since House Speaker Mike Johnson will keep his position in the next Congress, he has signaled that House Republicans will most likely punt appropriations bills into early 2025 even though Senate Democrats may in the meantime try to force a lame duck session floor vote on Stabenow’s bill. Bottom line: I am betting that the farm bill will be one of the first items addressed by the new 119th Congress in January. But in these wild and fast-moving final days of the 118th Congress, House and Senate Democrats might just yet find a way to settle the farm bill before this year ends.
The critically important new farm bill has been an extremely slow-moving piece of legislation without doubt since the current farm bill expired in 2018. But after spending many decades trolling the halls of Congress for Giant Food, I chalk up the delay in passage of a new five-year farm bill to inexperience, wafer thin House and Senate majorities, and the polarization of the split between both sides of the aisle. Come January, it will be a whole new ballgame on the hill.
FDA Releases Food Code Supplement
Last month the FDA released the official Supplement to the 2022 Food Code. This important document, well known as the “bible” to food safety experts, updates the 2022 Food Code with recent recommendations made by regulatory officials, including food industry manufacturing and retail food safety professionals, and academia and consumers. The Food Code and its Supplement provide government and the food industry with practical science-based controls for reducing the risk of foodborne illness in retail and foodservice establishments.
Some highlights in the Supplement to the 2022 Food Code include: expanding and clarifying how and when containers can be refilled and reused in a food establishment; updating testing requirements for reinstatement of food employees diagnosed with certain illnesses; and building on the concept of Food Safety Management Systems and Active Managerial Controls. The Food Code is the model for retail food regulations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and other territories. The next complete revision of the Food Code will be published in 2026. The Food Code is a must read for retail food safety folks.
FDA Starts Next Phase Of Sodium Reduction Efforts
The FDA has announced that the agency is extending the comment period for their Voluntary Sodium Reduction Goals: Draft Guidance for Industry, by an additional 60 days to January 13, 2025. The extension granted was in response to a request from numerous stakeholders (manufacturers, retailers, consumer non-government organizations) to allow for additional time for interested parties to develop and submit comments. The goal of this effort is to slash sodium in food and beverage products over the next 10 years to help Americans reduce their risks of diseases associated with overconsumption of salt by reducing their daily intake by 20 percent.
The food industry’s many trade associations, including FMI as well as the National Retail Federation, support the effort to reduce sodium in food products but they argued that the sheer volume of products and formulations that need to be reviewed make it difficult to do it within the proposed time frame.
Comments can still be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at Regulations.gov. All submissions received must reference Docket No. FDA-2014-D-0055.
Registration Open For USDA’s 101st Agricultural Outlook Forum
An extremely well-attended annual event, USDA has announced that registration is now open for the 101st Agricultural Outlook Forum which will take place February 27-28, 2025, at the Crystal City Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA. The event, entitled “Meeting Tomorrow’s Challenges, Today,” will feature a presentation on the 2025 outlook for the U.S. agricultural economy and trade and will also include a plenary panel of distinguished guest speakers, alongside 30 breakout sessions that will explore a wide range of current issues. If you are a serious retail food industry public affairs professional, this annual event is one that you do not want to miss. The in-person event will also feature exhibition booths by different USDA agencies, providing attendees with information about recent USDA-funded innovations and the department’s key programs and activities. To learn more about the forum, visit usda.gov.
New FDA Rules For TV Drug Ads
In last month’s commentary, I wrote about the proliferation of TV ads touting weight-loss drugs. Well, it appears as if the folks at the FDA have also taken notice. The Associated Press (AP) has reported that the FDA has produced new rules requiring drugmakers to be clearer and more direct when explaining their medications, risks and side efforts. The AP story that crossed my desk said, “The FDA spent more than 15 years crafting the guidelines…and many companies have already adopted the rules, which became binding on November 20. But while regulators were drafting them, a new trend emerged: thousands of pharma influencers pushing drugs online with little oversight. A new bill in Congress would compel the FDA to more aggressively police such promotions on social media platforms.” With all that said, the new rules, according to the AP, cover both TV and radio, and instruct drugmakers to use simple, consumer-friendly language when describing their drugs, without medical jargon, distracting visuals, or audio efforts.
Salmonella Rule For Poultry
The revised salmonella rule for poultry has been extended until January 2025. The proposed poultry standard for salmonella was announced last July and would stop poultry producers from selling chicken and turkey contaminated with certain salmonella thus making it illegal to sell chicken, chicken parts, or ground chicken or turkey if contaminated with salmonella. When the rule is finalized, it will provide additional protections for retailers and consumers alike.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), approximately 1.35 million human infections occur from salmonella bacteria each year in the U.S.
Finally, I wish my readers a healthy and happy holiday season and a joyous New Year.
