AWG Regulatory Roundup — July 15, 2025
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- Human Foods Program Releases 2025 Guidance Agenda
- FTC Issues Warning Letters on “Made in USA” Requirements
- Sunscreen Legislation Introduced in Congress
- Texas Bans Cell-Cultured Meat
- Oklahoma Governor Signs “Make Oklahoma Healthy Again” Executive Order
- Rhode Island Enacts EPR Program
- Hemp Happenings® – Language Prohibiting THC in Hemp Products Included in House and Senate Spending Bills
Human Foods Program Releases 2025 Guidance Agenda
On June 30, 2025, FDA’s Human Foods Program released its proposed 2025 guidance agenda. The proposed list includes the following possible new topics for guidance documents and revisions to existing guidance documents:
- New Dietary Ingredient Notifications and Related Issues: Identity and Safety Information About the NDI: Guidance for Industry
- Food Colors Derived from Natural Sources: Fruit Juice and Vegetable Juice as Color Additives in Food; Draft Guidance for Industry
- Action Levels for Cadmium in Food Intended for Babies and Young Children; Draft Guidance for Industry
- Action Levels for Inorganic Arsenic in Food Intended for Babies and Young Children; Draft Guidance for Industry
- Action Levels for Opiate Alkaloids on Poppy Seeds: Draft Guidance for Industry
- Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food; Chapter 12: Preventive Controls for Chemical Hazards
- The Food Traceability Rule: Questions and Answers; Draft Guidance for Industry
FTC Issues Warning Letters on “Made in USA” Requirements
FTC sent warning letters to four companies regarding compliance with the Commission’s “Made in USA” requirements. The letters, issued on July 8, 2025, explain that the FTC Act and FTC’s Made in USA Labeling Rule require that products advertised as “Made in the USA” must be “all or virtually all” made in the U.S., meaning that “all significant parts and processing that go into the product” are of U.S. origin and the product should contain only negligible foreign content. The Commission also sent letters to two online retailers regarding third-party sellers who appear to be making deceptive “Made in USA” claims about their products. FTC’s press release notes that “[t]hroughout July, the FTC is highlighting the importance of the FTC’s ‘Made in USA’ requirements to ensure that Americans can trust that products advertised or labeled as ‘Made in USA’ are actually American-made.”
Sunscreen Legislation Introduced in Congress
On June 3, 2025, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the SAFE Sunscreen Standards Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. “SAFE” stands for “Supporting Accessible, Flexible, and Effective Sunscreen Standards.” Noting that no new sunscreen active ingredients have been approved since 1999, the bill aims to improve and modernize FDA’s regulatory review process for approving sunscreen active ingredients, including by allowing non-animal testing methods. It also requires FDA to provide a report to Congress on the status of implementing evidence and testing standards for sunscreen active ingredients.
Texas Bans Cell-Cultured Meat
On June 20, 2025, the Governor of Texas signed into law Senate Bill 261, making Texas the seventh state to ban the sale of cell-cultured, or lab-grown meat, including meat products that are “grown” from harvested stem cells. The law prohibits the manufacture, processing, possessing, distribution, sale, and offering for sale of such products, following the lead of other states with similar bans, including Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, and Indiana.
Oklahoma Governor Signs “Make Oklahoma Healthy Again” Executive Order
As part of the state’s commitment to the federal Make America Healthy Again (“MAHA”) Initiative, Oklahoma’s Governor approved Executive Order 20205-13, or the “Make Oklahoma Healthy Again” Initiative, on June 26, 2025. The Executive Order directs state agencies to comprehensively review the state’s public water supply fluoridation programs and the use of artificial food colorings, including Red Dye 40, in foods distributed or permitted within state-funded programs. The Order also establishes an Initiative and Advisory Council aimed at “promoting clean living, physical activity, and preventative health.”
Rhode Island Enacts EPR Program
On June 30, 2025, Rhode Island’s Governor signed into law House Bill 6207, which establishes an Extended Producer Responsibility, or EPR, program in the state. The law primarily directs the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management to conduct a study evaluating the state’s infrastructure and to then draft policies to support packaging redemption and recycling, particularly for paper, plastic, glass, aluminum, and bimetal containers. The law also sets deadlines for the Department to establish a producer responsibility organization and an advisory council, both of which should take place in 2026. The law also sets a deadline of July 1, 2027, for producers to become members of the packaging producer responsibility organization.
Hemp Happenings® – Language Prohibiting THC in Hemp Products Included in House and Senate Spending Bills
On July 10, 2025, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the FY 26 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which includes language prohibiting THC in hemp products. Specifically, the language excludes from the definition of “hemp” any hemp-derived cannabinoid products that contain “quantifiable amounts” of THC, THCA, or other cannabinoids with effects similar to THC. Synthetically-produced cannabinoids would also be prohibited in hemp products. In June, the House Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill with nearly identical language. Both versions authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, to determine what qualifies as “quantifiable amounts.” However, the Senate version will include language delaying implementation of the new “hemp” definition by one year.
