Pressing Food Safety and Regulatory Issues for 2025

• Bird Flu’s Potential Impact: In December 2024, there was a report of presumptive bird flu in a child residing in Marin County, Calif., due to consumption of raw milk. The case was later confirmed not to be bird flu; however, the incident was a reminder of how raw milk can lead to exposure to pathogens not associated with pasteurized milk. Other than the potential for avian flu to lead to additional recalls, we anticipate that there will be the same background level of recalls mainly due to allergen cross-contamination or misbranding and to pathogens.
  
  
• The War on Packaging: Five states (California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota and Oregon) are attempting to address the plastic waste crisis by implementing extended producer responsibility laws that place the financial burden of packaging waste management on consumer product manufacturers (including food companies), and many other states are considering similar bills. This patchwork of sustainability regulations varies from state to state with Oregon taking the lead on compliance deadlines starting in 2025. Shifts in packaging demands (e.g., recycled content, recyclability, compostability) are likely to result from these initiatives, which is bound to cause headaches for brand owners. In some cases, identifying packaging alternatives that are functional, comply with state sustainability requirements and comply with federal safety regulations may also result in higher food prices, as well as an increase in food safety and security concerns.
  
  
• The States as the New Food Regulators: Historically, the states left the heavy lifting around food regulation to federal experts, but that era appears to have ended with:

o   The mandatory posting of heavy metal testing for every lot of baby food sold in California (under AB 899) and in Maryland (HB 97, known as Rudy’s law);

o   California’s first-ever ban of federally approved food additives (AB 418); and

o   New York’s ban (under A. 5610/S. 5823) on selling weight gain or weight loss supplements to persons under 18.

The trend toward more state regulation of the food industry is only increasing, with more impositions expected in 2025.

•         Potential Delay of Food Traceability Rule: Currently set to take effect on 20 January 2026, the Food Traceability regulations (one of the last Food Safety Modernization Act regulatory programs to be enforced since the act passed in 2010) may be delayed due to a provision in the current draft House appropriations bill that would prohibit funding for implementation, administration or enforcement of these regulations. Section 768 of the bill would require the FDA to “complete at least 4 pilot projects” to stress test the effectiveness of the regulations. The compliance date would extend to two years after the completion of the pilot programs.

2025 is forecast to be a dynamic year in terms of food safety and regulatory issues that, in general, will impose additional pressure on an already stressed industry. Professionals at K&L Gates are continuing to monitor these and other emerging food safety and regulatory developments impacting the food industry.

Dr. Peter Coneski is senior scientific advisor and Natalie Rainer is a partner at law firm K&L Gates (www.klgates.com), a fully integrated global law firm with lawyers located across five continents. The firm represents leading multinational corporations, growth and middle-market companies, capital markets participants and entrepreneurs in every major industry group.