• Frank Yiannas, the FDA’s Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response, answered questions regarding the current state of the U.S. food supply in a conversation published here. While acknowledging the new challenges faced by the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, he reassured consumers that the U.S. food supply remained safe and robust.
  • Mr. Yiannis stated that shortages consumers are facing are a result of increased demand rather than a decrease in supply. He assured consumers that there was “plenty of food,” that despite some food facility closures, U.S. food production and manufacturing are widely dispersed, and that the primary challenge was diverting food to the retail market. He noted the FDA’s efforts to redirect food to the retail market including: (1) affording industry temporary labelling flexibility (blogged about here and here), (2) temporarily modifying shell egg regulation (blogged about here), and (3) providing guidance for safely distributing unused human food for use in animal food (blogged about here).
  • Mr. Yiannis also reminded consumers that there was still no evidence that food or food packaging had resulted in the transmission of COVID-19. Further, while most domestic and foreign in-person inspections have been halted (blogged about here and here), he assured consumers that the FDA was still ensuring that food was safe, including through remote inspections under the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (blogged about here) and monitoring of potential outbreaks of food-born illness.
  • Finally, while the pandemic has delayed the FDA’s plans to release a “New Era of Smarter Food Safety” blueprint in March, the FDA will continue to work toward the blueprint’s release. Indeed, the value of the blueprint’s goals —including to establish a more digital and traceable food system—will be of paramount importance in the post-pandemic world.  Keller and Heckman will continue to monitor and report on the impact of the pandemic on the food industry.