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Beltway Beat

USDA FSIS Announces Leadership Changes

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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On January 9, 2026, FSIS announced strategic leadership changes that reflect the agency’s goal of ensuring representation, collaboration and accountability at the most senior level of the agency.

Mr. Robert Bane will be joining FSIS’ Office of the Administrator as Deputy Administrator of Field Operations, serving alongside Deputy Administrator Dr. Denise Eblen, who will focus on FSIS’ science and policy work. Bane brings decades of experience and expertise to this position and has served in several leadership positions within FSIS. Most recently, he was Executive Associate for Regulatory Operations within the Office of Field Operations (OFO) and prior to this was Assistant Administrator of the Office of Investigation, Enforcement and Audit. Bane will continue working from the Springdale District Office.

Additional leadership changes were made in OFO, the Office of Management (OM), and the Office of Public Affairs and Consumer Education (OPACE). Ms. Melissa Moore has been named Assistant Administrator of OFO, Ms. Natalie Duncan has assumed the role of Assistant Administrator of OM, and Ms. Karen Hunter has transitioned from her role as Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator of OFO to become the Assistant Administrator of OPACE

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Beltway Beat

FDA Opens VQIP Application Portal for FY2027

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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The FDA’s Voluntary Qualified Importer Program (VQIP) application portal for fiscal year 2027 opens on January 1, 2026, providing food importers with an opportunity to streamline their import processes through expedited review and importation benefits.

VQIP is a voluntary, fee-based program that offers expedited review and importation benefits for human and animal foods when importers demonstrate control over their supply chain safety and security. To participate, importers must ensure their foreign supplier facilities are certified through FDA’s Accredited Third-Party Certification Program.

Key Application Details:

• Application Window: January 1 – September 1, 2026

• Program Year: FY2027 benefits

Getting Started:

• Create an account on the FDA Industry Systems website (https://www.access.fda.gov/)

• Contact FSMAVQIP@fda.hhs.gov for an informational meeting

• Review eligibility requirements and certification needs, as foreign supplier facilities must be certified by FDA-accredited third-party certification bodies.

VQIP supports FDA’s Strategy for the Safety of Imported Food by incentivizing importers to use certified suppliers and maintain robust processes to help ensure imported food meets U.S. food safety requirements.

Resources and Support:

For questions or assistance, contact the VQIP Importers Help Desk:

• Email: FSMAVQIP@fda.hhs.gov

• Phone: 301-796-8745

• Program Information: https://www.fda.gov/food/importing-food-products-united-states/voluntary-qualified-importer-program-vqip

EAS Consulting Group Announces Hiring of Business Development Director Rob Williams

By Jessica Lloyd
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EAS Consulting Group, a company focused on regulatory compliance for FDA- and USDA-regulated industries, is pleased to welcome Rob Williams to the EAS team as Business Development Director.

Rob is an accomplished business development executive with over a decade of experience driving sales growth, strategic partnerships, and market expansion across the healthcare and life sciences industries. In his role with EAS Consulting Group, Rob will support client engagement and growth initiatives across all FDA-regulated commodity areas, helping organizations identify and implement the regulatory and compliance solutions best suited to their needs.

Prior to joining EAS, Rob held key leadership roles in the medical technology sector, including Regional Sales Manager for Neocis, a pioneer in robotic dental surgery, and Senior Portfolio Business Development Manager for Pacira BioSciences, where he led opioid-free pain management initiatives throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. His achievements at Pacira included multiple top national rankings, including #1 for total revenue in several quarters and recognition among the top 10% of the national sales force.

Earlier in his career, Rob served in business development roles with Merit Medical Systems, Lumenis, and Oxford Immunotec, where he consistently exceeded growth targets and formed strategic partnerships with leading healthcare institutions such as Johns Hopkins, INOVA Health System, and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Rob is recognized for his strategic approach to client engagement, leadership in collaborative business development environments, and commitment to advancing innovative healthcare solutions. His work at EAS will further strengthen support for clients navigating evolving regulatory and quality compliance expectations.

Follow Rob on LinkedIn

Beltway Beat

FDA Takes Action to Improve Recall Effectiveness

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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In a December 15, 2025 press release, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reminded industry of its legal responsibilities under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act regarding food recalls and called for industry to increase adoption of best practices in recall implementation.

Last week, the FDA sent warning letters to several major retailers for failing to remove recalled ByHeart infant formula from their store shelves despite being notified of the recall. These warning letters highlight a concerning problem with recall effectiveness at the retail level. Last year, the FDA sent a similar warning letter to a retailer who failed to adequately remove recalled lead-contaminated WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches from its store shelves.

In the weeks following the manufacturer’s voluntary recall of ByHeart infant formula products, FDA investigators and state and local partners checked retail stores across the U.S. over 4,000 times to ensure recalled product was not being made available to consumers. The investigation discovered recalled infant formula continued to be found on store shelves—for over three weeks in one case, in over 175 locations across 36 states. These warning letters highlight the critical responsibility that retailers have in effectuating a recall, particularly when dealing with products that pose serious health risks to our most vulnerable populations, such as infants.

The FDA has asked these retailers to respond to the warning letters within 15 days stating the specific steps they have taken to address any violations and prevent the recurrence of violations, or providing its reasoning and supporting information as to why the company believes it is not in violation of the law.

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Pasteurization of milk is an Effective Preventive Measure against Avian Influenza

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Cows, dairy, farms

In March 2024, a highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 (HPAI) clade 2.3.4.4b virus was identified in US dairy cows, with spillover to cats, poultry, and humans.

Up to 30% of commercial pasteurized milk tested contained viral genome copies. The impact of residual viral remnants on host immunity is unknown. Orally ingested proteins can stimulate gut-associated lymphoid tissues, potentially inducing tolerance and altering responses to later infection.

The research published by NIH found that milk pasteurization fully inactivated pandemic H1N1 and bovine H5N1 influenza viruses yet preserved hemagglutinin (HA) protein integrity. In mice, repeated oral exposure to inactivated virus did not alter mortality after H5N1 virus challenge.

Preliminary data showed that naïve mice exposed to improperly pasteurized milk containing live H5N1 virus developed lethal infection, whereas prior H1N1 infection conferred protection. Mice with preexisting H1N1 immunity remained protected when challenged with bovine H5N1 virus after exposure to H5N1 pasteurized in milk.

These findings suggest that pasteurized milk containing inactivated H5N1 virus poses minimal health risks.

 

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Beltway Beat

FDA Expands Artificial Intelligence Capabilities with Agentic AI Deployment

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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The Big Cheese Recall

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Great Lakes Cheese company is recalling over 1.5 million bags of shredded cheese, including mozzarella, Italian-style, and pizza-style blends, sold under different brand names due to possible metal fragments in the products. The recall, which was initiated in October and reclassified by the FDA as a Class II recall in December 2025, affects various store-brand cheeses sold at retailers like Walmart, Target, Publix and Aldi.

The recall was covered by many consumer news outlets mostly advising consumers to not consume the affected cheese and to throw it away or return it to the store for a full refund.

The Ohio based employee owned company has nine cheese manufacturing and packing plants in the US. At the time of this post, the company had not posted anything on its website about the recall.

Allergen Alley

NY State Exec Bruce Blakeman and Long Island families lead push to add gluten warnings on all restaurant menus, packaged foods

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The NY Post reported that Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman joined Long Island families Monday, Nov. 24 in leading a push to add gluten warnings to add packaged foods and restaurant menus across the country.

Blakeman, who is eyeing a potential run for the Republican gubernatorial nomination next year, called on the US Department of Health and Human Services to mandate that companies add labels clearly stating whether products or dishes contain gluten of any kind.

“This issue is important because there are so many people who have celiac disease,” said Blakeman at a press conference. “We need to make sure people who have food issues, whether it’s a food allergy or an autoimmune condition, have access to proper labeling so they know what they can safely consume,” he said.

Roughly 14,000 people suffer from the disease in Nassau County alone. “If we get gluten labeled, life would become so much easier,” 11-year-old, Jax Bari, told The Post after the press conference.

The kids explained how difficult it is to navigate life while avoiding gluten, which includes wheat, barley, rye, and a slew of other everyday ingredients found in nearly all breads, pastas, cereals and processed foods.

Jay Hardy, Founder of Hardy Diagnostics, Retires

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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After 45 years, founder of to Hardy Diagnostics, Jay Hardy, has officially retired from active service. Jay started Hardy Diagnostics in 1980 with what began as a small lab in Santa Barbara has grown into an employee-owned company serving customers around the world. As Jay steps into this next chapter, he shares his gratitude for everyone who has supported the company’s mission over the years:

“After 45 years of helping lead this wonderful company, I have decided that it’s time I took a step back to spend more time with my children and grandchildren. More than anything, I want to thank all the Hardy employee-owners for their hard work and dedication that has made Hardy Diagnostics what it is today.”

While Jay will continue to advise in a supporting role, Christopher Catani, who has been with Hardy Diagnostics since 1996 and has served as CEO since 2024, will now lead as President and CEO. Chris has worked alongside Jay for nearly three decades and shares his passion for advancing microbiology and supporting the laboratory with “A Culture of Service.”

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Beltway Beat

Foreign Food Safety Inspections Hit Historic Low in 2025

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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In an article published in ProPublica, journalists, Annie Waldman and Brandon Roberts researched FDA records and found that the U.S. is on track to have the fewest foreign food inspections since 2011 (excluding pandemic years).

Some of their key findings include in recent years, FDA investigators have uncovered numerous safety violations at foreign food facilities, including crawling insects, cracked conveyor belts and dripping pipes. About two dozen current and former FDA officials blamed the pullback of foreign food inspections on deep staffing cuts this year.

Inspections began to decline in early 2025, after 65% of the staff in the FDA divisions responsible for coordinating travel and budgets left or were fired in the name of government efficiency.

Because of staff reductions, investigators suddenly had to book their own flights and hotels, obtain diplomatic passports and visas, and coordinate with foreign authorities, former and current FDA staffers told ProPublica. After workers tasked with processing expenses were laid off, investigators waited as a backlog of unfulfilled reimbursements climbed to more than $1 million, a former staffer said. (Investigators are responsible for paying off their own credit cards.) Senior investigators close to retirement also took the opportunity to get out.

“Basic regulatory oversight functions have been decimated,” said Brian Ronholm, the director of food policy at Consumer Reports. “There’s an enhanced risk of more outbreaks.”

ProPublica’s Research

To understand how inspections of foreign food facilities have changed, they used a publicly available dashboard where the FDA publishes the results of those inspections. This database also includes inspections for manufacturers of drugs, medical devices, cosmetics, tobacco, biologics and veterinary products.

Beginning in May, they downloaded the entire database weekly and tracked the number of newly added foreign food facility inspections.

The dashboard is continually updated, with data added after inspections are finalized. That typically occurs 45 to 90 days after the close of an inspection, though some reports may not be posted until the agency takes a final enforcement action. Through an analysis, ProPublica determined that few reports are added more than 90 days after an inspection date.

Their story only includes inspections through July. The journalists asked HHS for recent figures, but the department refused to share them.

They considered the possibility that the downtrend in foreign food inspections was solely due to a lag in inspections being added to the dashboard. To check this, we performed the same analysis on domestic inspections. This analysis showed that while the rate of foreign inspections had significantly decreased, domestic inspections have continued almost uninterrupted.