Preparing for 118th Congress; FDA’s New Food Safety Strategies
Top-Line
Preparing for the 118th Congress.
FDA Releases New Prevention Strategies to Enhance Food Safety.
Friday Update to Next Publish on October 28.
Alliance 2023 Dues Invoices to be Sent 2nd Week of November.
Upcoming Alliance Webinar: October 20 at 1:30 p.m. “Digital Health and Cyber Security" with Dr. Suzanne Schwartz, Directors of CDRH’s Office of Strategic Partnerships & Technology Innovation (OST).
This week’s Analysis and Commentary examines 3D printer technology as an example of how new technologies and innovation eventually become part of a medical product or play some role in the food industry.
Preparing for the 118th Congress. Elections have consequences and will spell many changes in the House and Senate. Should majorities change – and we may not know who the majority might be until sometime after election day - every committee and subcommittee will have new chairs and ranking members, even though in some instances the same members will switch their positions. Key Committee staff could change as well. Depending upon the size of majorities in the House and Senate, committee and subcommittee membership ratios may change. All of this will take time to be resolved, with some matters not being settled until January.
Key action begins in December. House and Senate majority and minority leadership contests will be underway, even though the Speaker of the House is not formally determined until January. Changes in House and Senate rules will be debated. Once committee ratios are determined committee assignments begin. In the House the focus is on the exclusive committees – the most significant committees in the House including Appropriations and Energy and Commerce where members are appointed to just that single committee. While many committee assignments will be announced in December, some will not be determined until January. Several full committee chairs and ranking members will be announced in December. Because of retirements, we know for certain that the Senate will have a new chair and ranking for the Appropriations Committee. Subcommittee chairs, ranking members, and membership will not be determined until January.
We will continue to provide information about these changes as more developments occur, with an eye on how they might impact FDA.
FDA Releases New Prevention Strategies to Enhance Food Safety. This week’s FDA Voices (the agency’s blog) announces and describes a new program designed to share what FDA has learned in specific food outbreaks. FDA notes “We now know more than ever about the reoccurrence of contributing factors that can cause contamination of certain foods by specific disease-causing bacteria and how all parts of the food safety system – which includes the FDA and other government agencies, state and local health departments, the food industry, and others – can work together to keep such contamination from happening.”
The first two documents in the series cover bulb onions and imported enoki and wood ear mushrooms. The “Prevention Strategies to Enhance Food Safety” website is here.
Friday Update to Next Publish on October 28. We will be taking a week off, skipping the October 21 edition of Friday Update. While we will not publish again until October 28, Alliance staff will be available if you need information or assistance from us.
Alliance 2023 Dues Invoices to be Sent 2nd Week of November. The Alliance will be sending out its 2023 invoices the second week of November. This allows members to pay from their 2022 budget if they prefer. If you need to start sooner than November, contact Elisa and we will send you an invoice. Thanks to all for supporting the Alliance.
October 20 at 1:30 p.m. - “Digital Health and Cyber Security" with Dr. Suzanne Schwartz, Directors of CDRH’s Office of Strategic Partnerships & Technology Innovation (OST). REGISTER HERE.
Why Register to Hear Dr. Schwartz? CDRH’s Office of Strategic Partnerships and Technology Innovation provides leadership for all scientific collaborative and emerging technology-related activities at the Center. The breadth is considerable, including emergency preparedness, cybersecurity, digital health, creating a resilient supply chain, woman’s health, and regulatory science. Over the course of an hour, she will talk about her goals, priorities, and upcoming plans and provide a more personal view of her role and responsibilities