The Brief
Recalls, FDA and USDA actions, and standards changes, briefed with what each one means for your facility.
Apr 17, 2026
FDA Keeps Issuing FSVP Warning Letters. Manufacturers Often Don't Know They're the Importer.
Life Plus Style Gourmet got an FDA warning letter on March 5, 2026, on the company's third FSVP inspection in four years. It joined a sustained cluster of FSVP warning letters going back to June 2025. The enforcement tool behind them, Import Alert 99-41, detains every shipment an importer brings into the country until they petition off. If you buy ingredients from a foreign supplier, you may be the FSVP importer on the hook and not know it.
7 min
Apr 8, 2026
Red No. 3 Is Banned. The Rest of the Dyes Are Next.
Red No. 3 is legally banned from food products starting January 15, 2027. The remaining six petroleum-based dyes face a "voluntary" phase-out by end of 2027, but Nestlé, General Mills, and Kraft Heinz are already reformulating. Only 11 of the top 24 food manufacturers have committed to a full removal. The labeling, supply chain, and litigation pressure will reach everyone else soon.
6 min
Apr 6, 2026
California AB 660 Takes Effect July 1: What Your Labels Need to Change
California AB 660 bans "Sell By" dates and requires all packaged food sold in the state to use standardized "BEST if Used by" or "USE by" labels starting July 1, 2026. Over 50 date phrases currently in use will become illegal. If you ship product into California and haven't started your label audit, three months is not a lot of runway.
7 min
Mar 17, 2026
SQF Edition 10: What Changed and How to Prepare Before the 2027 Deadline
SQF Edition 10 brings the biggest changes to the Code in years: a formal food safety culture requirement, a new scoring model, and competency-based training standards. Audits under the new edition begin as early as January 2027, giving most facilities about nine months to close gaps.
7 min
Mar 10, 2026
FSMA 204 Delayed to 2028: What Food Manufacturers Should Do Now
FSMA 204 got pushed to July 2028, but the requirements didn't budge. You still need lot-level traceability data at every critical tracking event, and the FDA still expects a complete electronic file within 24 hours of asking. The facilities that use this window to prepare will be fine. The ones that wait won't be.
7 min
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