Food and Beverage News and Trends - October 24, 2025

This regular publication by DLA Piper lawyers focuses on helping clients navigate the ever-changing business, legal, and regulatory landscape.

Newsom signs Allergen Disclosure for Dining Experiences Act. On October 13, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 68, the Allergen Disclosure for Dining Experiences Act, a first-in-the-nation measure requiring chain restaurants to list major food allergens in their menu descriptions. The rule covers restaurants with 20 or more outlets, exempting mobile food operations (such as food trucks and carts) and nonpermanent food facilities. SB 68 targets the so-called Big Nine allergens: crustacean shellfish, eggs, fish, milk, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, tree nuts, and wheat. Under SB 68, restaurants must list allergens either directly on their menus or digitally via a QR code that leads to a digital menu; however, restaurants that opt to use a digital format must also provide allergen information through additional written materials such as a booklet or chart. SB 68 was overwhelmingly supported by the state legislature, passing the Senate 39-0 and the Assembly 66-1, and goes into effect July 1, 2026. See the legislation here.

California ultra-processed food bill signed into law. On October 8, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1264, a measure that defines and bans ultra-processed foods (UPFs) in public school meals. As we reported when the state legislature passed the bill in September, AB 1264 amends Section 49431 of the California Education Code, directing the California Department of Public Health to establish regulations by 2028 to define “UPFs of concern” and “restricted school foods,” which will be phased out of public school food service by 2035. It defines a UPF as any food or beverage containing one or more specified ingredients with an FDA-defined technical effect and containing either “high amounts” of saturated fat, sodium, or added sugars, or a nonnutritive sweetener or other covered substance. With this measure, known as the Real Food, Healthy Kids Act, California becomes the first state in the nation to establish a legal framework for defining and regulating UPFs.

DOJ announces creation of Enforcement & Affirmative Litigation Branch. The United States Department of Justice recently announced the creation of the Enforcement & Affirmative Litigation Branch within the Department’s Civil Division, which, according to a DOJ press release, is “dedicated to safeguarding public health and safety through proactive enforcement and high-impact affirmative litigation.” The Branch’s Enforcement Section will focus on federal consumer protection statutes, among them the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Controlled Substances Act. The Affirmative Litigation Section will focus on filing lawsuits against states, municipalities, and private entities that “interfere with or obstruct federal policies, ensuring nationwide compliance with the U.S. Constitution and federal law.” Learn more in our alert.

Color manufacturers sue to challenge West Virginia’s new artificial food dye ban. On October 6, the International Association of Color Manufacturers (IACM) filed suit in the US District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia against the West Virginia Department of Health and the state Board of Education over HB 2354, the state’s sweeping ban on certain synthetic dyes and preservatives in commercially sold foods: red dye No. 3, yellow dye No. 5, butylated hydroxyanisole, propylparaben, red dye No. 40, yellow dye No. 6, blue dye No. 1, blue dye No. 2, and green dye No. 3. HB 2354’s provisions took effect on August 1 for foods served in schools; the ban goes into effect on January 1, 2028, for all retail food products sold in West Virginia. In its complaint, the IACM states, among other things, that HB 2354 lacks scientific justification and violates the US and state constitutions through vague and undefined language that invites arbitrary enforcement, thus interfering with interstate commerce. IACM is calling on the court to declare HB 2354 unconstitutional and unenforceable. This litigation is in its earliest stages. See some of our earlier coverage of the West Virginia measure here.

New York City expands menu warnings with Sweet Truth Act. On October 4, New York City’s Sweet Truth Act went into effect, requiring chain restaurants with 15 or more locations nationwide to post a warning icon and statement on menus next to prepackaged foods and foods identical to prepackaged foods that contains 50 grams or more of added sugar per serving and thus exceeds the FDA’s recommended daily limit for a 2,000-calorie diet. The Sweet Truth Act also requires chain restaurants to provide a warning about the health dangers associated with consuming too much added sugar over time. The rule applies to on-site, online, and self-service menus. With the new sugar warning icon, New York City becomes the only US jurisdiction requiring two menu-based nutrition warning icons on menus (the other icon cautions about excessive sodium). Beginning in January 2026, chain restaurants that do not comply may be subject to a $200 fine. The New York City Council originally passed the Sweet Truth Act in 2023. In January 2025, the Council proposed Introduction 1177, which would expand the Act’s warning requirements to all food establishments citywide, including independent and small restaurants.

Temporary import restriction for pistachios from Islamic Republic of Iran into Canada. As a precautionary measure to protect Canadians from the risk of Salmonella infection, effective September 27, 2025, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will no longer allow the import of pistachios or pistachio products that leave Iran after that date. Products exported before September 27 will be subject to testing and may be held before being released for sale. For pistachios coming from countries other than Iran, CFIA will require importers to either provide proof that the product is not of Iranian origin. If no proof is provided, the shipment will also be subject to testing.

ADA says definition of UPFs should include added sugars. Leaders of the American Dental Association have called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to include added sugars in the final definition of ultra-processed foods. In their open letter, ADA President Brett Kessler, DDS, and Interim Executive Director Elizabeth Shapiro, DDS, JD, cited the scientific consensus linking excessive sugar intake with systemic and oral ailments. “The ADA’s policy positions are grounded in the scientific consensus that excess sugar consumption is a primary contributor to dental caries (tooth decay), the most common chronic disease in both children and adults,” their open letter stated. No amount of sugar consumption is risk-free for oral health, they noted, and the average American still consumes far more added sugar than recommended daily limits. In July this year, the FDA and USDA jointly issued a long-awaited Request for Information (RFI) to assist in developing a uniform definition of ultra-processed foods; the comment period on that RFI closed in September. See the ADA leaders’ open letter here.

Latest Reagan-Udall Foundation report addresses the response to cross-sectoral public health threats. Noting that complex public health threats – such as the H5N1 virus in poultry and dairy cattle – are typically cross-sectoral, affecting multiple sectors and jurisdictions, the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration (RUF) has released Advancing FDA Mechanisms to Address Complex Cross-Sectoral Health Threats, a report setting out actionable recommendations to strengthen readiness and responsiveness to such threats. RUF began its work on the report by conducting interviews and roundtable discussions with FDA stakeholders across the public health, agriculture, and regulatory realms. The resultant document identifies key gaps, then goes on to recommend institutionalization of an array of steps to foster collaboration across organizations, ranging from clarifying regulatory authority to improving surveillance and building adaptive response structures in order to improve “trust, transparency, and collaboration across sectors.” In its conclusion, the report observes, “A truly cross-sectoral response is inherently multi-agency, and therefore this document includes solutions that extend beyond the FDA’s direct scope.” Download the report here.

Ontario’s Human Rights Tribunal dismisses dairy farmer’s discrimination complaint against Dairy Farmers of Ontario. A dairy farmer alleged that Dairy Farmers of Ontario inspectors made discriminatory comments and blocked farm operations. The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario dismissed the complaint because it had been filed more than three years after the last alleged incident – well beyond the Human Rights Code’s one-year limit. The tribunal held there was no good faith reason for the delay, including the farmer's reliance on erroneous advice from a non lawyer consultant and despite the consultant’s alleged fraud. The Tribunal also found that pursuing other avenues, like the Products Appeal Board and informal negotiations, did not justify waiting to file. 

Another PFAS added to Toxics Release Inventory. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has added sodium perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS-Na), a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) list. The agency advises facilities subject to reporting requirements for PFHxS-Na to begin tracking their activities involving that chemical starting January 1, 2026. Reporting forms are due to EPA by July 1, 2027. The addition of PFHxS-Na to the TRI arises from the agency’s finalization earlier this year of a toxicity value, “IRIS Toxicological Review of Perfluorohexanesulfonic Acid (PFHxS, CASRN 335-46-4) and Related Salts.”

FDA again expands alert on presence of elevated levels of lead in ground cinnamons. On October 8, the FDA again expanded its health alert about high levels of lead in certain packaged ground cinnamons, adding two more products to the list. The FDA has been updating its public health alert about lead-tainted cinnamons in the wake of the discovery, in late 2023, of a nationwide lead poisoning outbreak in children. See some of our coverage of that story here and here.

Conditional FDA approval for Dectomax-CA1 to treat New World Screwworm in cattle. On September 30, FDA Commissioner Martin Makary, MD, MPH, announced that the agency has conditionally approved Dectomax-CA1, an injectable that is the first drug approved in the US for the prevention and treatment of New World Screwworm (NWS) in cattle. Timothy Schell, PhD, acting director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, stated, “Under this conditional approval, the FDA has determined the drug is safe and has a reasonable expectation of effectiveness. We are making this treatment available to cattle producers immediately while the sponsor collects the data needed for a full approval.” Dectomax-CA1 contains the same active ingredient (doramectin injection) at the same dose as Dectomax, which is already fully FDA approved under a New Animal Drug Application for treatment and control of certain cattle and swine parasites. Dectomax-CA1 was eligible for conditional approval because it addresses an unmet animal health need; is intended to treat and prevent a serious or life-threatening disease in cattle; and demonstrating its effectiveness would require complex studies. During the week of October 6, a second case of NWS was confirmed in a cow in the northern Mexican border state of Nuevo León. On October 9, Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX) expressed concerns that the USDA employees who monitor Mexican livestock for the presence of NWS have been furloughed in the shutdown. Mexico has activated emergency biosecurity controls to limit the further spread of the parasite, pursuant to initiatives announced in August by USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins.

USDA announces $480 million in funding to purchase US commodities for two international humanitarian programs. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced in late September that it will disburse $480 million in funding that will allow two Foreign Agricultural Service humanitarian programs to internationally distribute US-grown commodities. Half the funds will go to the Food for Progress program to purchase 361,000 metric tons of commodities, which will be sold on foreign markets, USDA stated, to support agricultural, economic, and infrastructure development with the goal of expanding opportunities for US trade. Those commodities will go to Colombia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, and Vietnam. The other half of the funding will go to the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program to purchase 56,170 metric tons of US-grown packaged commodities, which will be distributed in Benin, Honduras, Mozambique, Pakistan, and Senegal via school meal programs. The funds were appropriated by Congress in 2024 for use in the two programs during FY 2025.

Avian flu update

• As the fall migration continues, health officials in the US states of Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin and in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario have lately reported new outbreaks of H5N1 in commercial poultry and egg operations. In the 30 days leading up to October 9, more than 4.4 million birds were affected in these outbreaks. Minnesota alone has reported 14 outbreaks in commercial turkey facilities since mid-September. Wisconsin’s Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) issued an order suspending all poultry shows, exhibitions, swap meets, and movement of poultry to other events in four southeast counties through the end of this year. In Indiana, health officials announced they are stepping up surveillance of dairy cattle in LaGrange and Elkhart counties, which in recent days have experienced outbreaks on commercial duck farms.
  
  
• The US turkey flock is the smallest it has been in 40 years, due in part to outbreaks of H5N1 and avian metapneumovirus. At this writing, turkey prices are 40 percent higher than a year ago. Reportedly, while wholesale prices for turkeys are climbing, some grocery companies are planning to provide discounts, sales, and special offers.
  
  
• The virus continues to wreak havoc around the world. Australia, Denmark, France, Iran, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, and the United Kingdom have all experienced significant outbreaks in commercial poultry and egg operations this month. The United States remains the only country where the virus has infected dairy cattle.
  
  
• On October 20, the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) reported another human case of avian flu, identified in Mexico in early October. PAHO also reported 76 human cases of H5 influenzas, including two deaths, in five countries in the Americas from 2022 up to August 25, 2025. More largely, from early 2003 to August 25, 2025, health officials worldwide have notified the World Health Organization of 990 patients and 475 deaths from H5 influenzas across 25 countries – a fatality rate of 48 percent.
  
  
• The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA0 is maintaining control of Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, BC – the latest development arising from a December 2023 outbreak of H5N1 at the farm. The CFIA says that the H5N1 variant found at the farm is linked to human cases in the US and poses a serious threat to both public health and the poultry industry. The CFIA also reported the death of an ostrich from a pre-existing leg injury and has denied allegations of animal cruelty made by the farm’s representatives. The agency retains custody and veterinary care of the flock, enforcing biosecurity and issuing warnings against interference. At the same time, protests at the farm have grown increasingly tense, with the farm's owners condemning a recent alleged assault and arson. Creditors owed over $250,000 by the farm owners are seeking to garnish any CFIA compensation of the cull proceeds, while the farm fundraises to support its legal and operational expenses. Further, on October 7, the farm’s spokesperson said a “signatory Indian tribe” had placed the farm and its ostriches under protection and had issued a cease-and-desist letter to CFIA. However, the Syilx Okanagan Nation, whose territory includes the farm, publicly denied issuing the letter and questioned its authenticity, noting that the letter was ostensibly signed by “Manitou Wabski Kinew,” a name suspiciously similar to that of the premier of Manitoba, Wab Kinew. The Syilx Nation condemned the misuse of its name and authority, stating it had no involvement in the affairs of the farm.
  
  
• A study published in Nature Medicine on October 8 and receiving considerable media attention finds that the H5N1 virus may remain viable in raw milk cheeses, both while they are being made and for up to 120 days of aging. The team of scientists, led by researchers from Cornell University, stated that they “spiked” raw milk with H5N1, then adjusted the milk to various acidity levels and used it to produce cheeses. The virus, the researchers found, “exhibits remarkable stability throughout the cheese-making process.” The researchers were able to further validate their findings by studying commercial raw-milk cheeses that had been inadvertently contaminated with H5N1. Pointing to current regulations that require raw-milk cheeses to be aged 60 days before marketing, the authors concluded, “Our study has implications for public health, food safety and regulatory policies.” See the study here.