FDA is a food safety regulatory agency that covers close to 80% of food produced for the US. FDA continues to protect American public from unsafe food made in the US and foreign countries if the food is offered on the US market. Like any other regulatory body, the FDA has their priorities and goals to achieve. In 2026 the FDA will continue implementing initiatives that are part of the Human Food Program (HFP). We listed some of the important goals of HFP below:
- Remove petroleum-based dyes from food and replace them with more natural alternatives.
- Review and if needed restrict a range of food additives.
- Conduct a comprehensive review of nutrient requirements in baby formula.
- Reduce child exposure to heavy metals.
- Implement Front of Package Nutritional Labeling on food products.
- Expand the inspections of food facilities by leveraging state inspections in addition to FDA resources.
- Address growing concerns related to ultra processed foods to reduce potential for chronic diseases.
One of the goals is to expand on food facilities inspections for compliance with rules covered in FSMA. Lately we have been receiving questions related to potential FSMA regulatory changes. Currently there are no plans to change any existing or to add any additional food safety regulations under Food Safety Modernization Act. This doesn’t mean that FDA along with other regulatory agencies isn’t introducing new requirements. The ones initiated in 2025 and expected to be released in 2026 do not necessarily pertain to food safety but have to do with food legality and quality.
In May of 2025 the FDA proposed that food manufacturers include nutritional labeling in front of package (FOP). The proposed rule will require that a compact box with selected nutritional information is included on the principal display panel of a food product. The short nutritional box would show simplified information on some of the nutrients such as saturated fats, sodium and added sugars. It will be shown as “low”, “medium” and “high” content to give the consumer a quick reference point prior to purchasing the product. The goal is to provide consumers with “at a glance”, easily accessible information about how healthy the food product is. Current federal dietary recommendations advise the consumers to limit those 3 nutrients to reduce the daily calories. Public commenting on the proposed rule ended in July of 2025 and FDA is currently working on reviewing the comments prior to releasing the final draft.
Another expected regulation in 2026 is Food Date Labeling. FSIS and FDA jointly are collecting public input related to proposed rules for identifying food expiration dates on food products.
It is estimated that confusion related to food expiration dates is responsible for approximately 20% of food waste therefore there needs to be clear format and guidelines for the industry to clearly mark expiration dates on food products.
Both the FDA and USDA currently recommend that food industry members voluntarily apply the “Best if Used By” quality-based food date label, which notes the date after which quality may decline but the product may still be consumed. Current recommendations don’t consider the food safety aspect of expired products. The new regulation will give the food manufacturers two options – ‘Best if used by” to indicate quality expiration and “Use by” indicating that food safety may be compromised if the product is expired.
Along with the two phrases the regulatory agencies will launch a social campaign to ensure the public is aware of food labeling and that the product with expired quality is safe to consumers. This will hopefully reduce the waste of food and minimize confusion the public currently experiences with endless formats to indicate product expiration.
BD Food Safety Consultants LLC publishes monthly newsletter to course attendees and current clients. We keep our audience informed about any changes within FDA and USDA regulatory standards. Stay tuned for more information or contact our team through our WEBSITE or call 815-641-6404.