August 2025

Greetings!

Welcome to August's Label Alert! In this month's headlines, FDA revokes 52 outdated Standards of Identity, FDA and USDA set out to define "ultra-processed," a Senate bill is introduced that would significantly curtail GRAS exemptions, and more.

And this month we're highlighting our upcoming USDA and FDA Labeling webinars! Take advantage of these comprehensive series of trainings to learn the fundamentals, the latest trends and regulatory developments.

Now, get caught up on the latest industry news from Label Alert.

FDA Revokes 52 Outdated Food Standards to Promote Innovation and Transparency

The FDA unveiled a comprehensive regulatory initiative to revoke 52 outdated “Standards of Identity” (SOIs) for various food products. These SOIs—which date back decades—impose minimum requirements that are no longer relevant, given modern food production, labeling, and consumer safety protocols.

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FDA and USDA Kick Off an Effort to Define Ultra-processed Foods

The U.S. government has begun the process of figuring out what, exactly, ultra-processed foods are — the first step toward potentially doing something about them.

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U.S. Senate Bill Would Eliminate Self-GRAS Pathway to Market Food Substances

A July 17, 2025 bill introduced by Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) ... titled the Ensuring Safe and Toxic-Free Foods Act of 2025, would significantly curtail the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) pre-market exemption for food substances, including food ingredients, food packaging, and other food-contact substances. 

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FDA Releases New Tool for Toxicity Screening of Chemicals in Food

FDA released its Expanded Decision Tree (EDT) chemical toxicity and risk screening tool that advances the agency’s commitment to transparency and enhancement of the food chemical safety program.

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USDA Defends Secretive Rollout of Reorganization Plan

The Department of Agriculture deliberately kept lawmakers in the dark about its plan to reorganize the agency for fear the information would leak out if shared with their offices, Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden told a Senate committee Wednesday.

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Texas Investigating Skittles Maker Mars for Failing to Remove Artificial Food Dyes

Texas’ attorney general is investigating M&M’s and Skittles maker Mars for failing to fulfill a 2016 pledge to remove artificial colors from its food products. Attorney General Ken Paxton said the company chose not to remove synthetic dyes from products sold in the U.S.

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