FDA Releases New Draft Guidance on Food Recalls

In late September, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it will be providing additional information in food safety recall announcements. Going forward, food recalls will include more details about retail stores where recalled foods were sold. According to a statement from Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, the FDA “has not traditionally released lists of specific retailers where recalled foods may have been purchased.” The new draft guidance discloses situations where sharing specific retailer information is appropriate. You can review the draft guidance on the FDA website.

Importantly for CDA members, the draft guidance indicates that wholesalers will not be named in recalls, since “identifying them would not enable consumers to recognize recalled food in their possession.”