Dive Brief:
- The FDA had sought a stay of the Nov. 30 deadline for the release of new food-safety rules. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that request, but granted the regulator a brief extension.
- The Court's ruling means the government must release new rules required under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) by Dec. 20.
- The court cited the recent shutdown of the federal government as justification for the extension.
Dive Insight:
We applaud the Ninth Circuit for what seems a reasonable and reasoned response to the FDA and its critics. We share the concerns of food industry executives who demand, correctly, that they have a right to know to what regulations they must adhere. And we share the outrage of food activists and others who supported the FSMA only to find it languishing.
For better or for worse, the FSMA is the law. And it's way past the time for bureaucrats be forced to write the rules that the rest of us must live by.
