28 August 2026 • 12 minute read
Food and Beverage News and Trends - August 28, 2026
President Trump nominates Dr. Heidi Overton as next FDA Commissioner. On August 19, President Donald Trump announced that he is nominating Dr. Heidi Overton to be the next Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Overton, a medical doctor and the current Deputy Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, has worked closely with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on health-policy matters. Overton earned her Doctor of Medicine at the University of New Mexico and a PhD in Clinical Investigation from Johns Hopkins University. Before joining President Trump’s second administration, Overton was Chief Policy Officer at the America First Policy Institute, ultimately overseeing its health policy center. Kyle Diamantas, the current Acting FDA Commissioner, will remain with the agency.
FDA weighs three new natural food color petitions. On August 19, FDA filed three new petitions that aim to amend the agency’s color additive regulations to allow for the use of gardenia blue, safflower extract, and acetone-extracted carrot oil in various food applications.
- The gardenia blue petition seeks to expand the use of gardenia (genipin) blue in foods at levels consistent with good manufacturing practice. FDA first approved use of the natural dye in six food categories in July 2025. The petition would add 20 new categories and proposes lowering the specification for arsenic in the color additive from two parts per million (ppm) to one ppm.
- The safflower extract petition proposes allowing safflower extract (Carthamus tinctorius L.) as a color additive in products including beverages, chewing gum, breakfast cereals, desserts, dairy products, candy, salad dressings, and soup broths. FDA had provisionally listed safflower as an exempt color additive for food in 1962, but that authorization was delisted in 1964.
- The acetone-extracted carrot oil petition seeks to permit the safe use of acetone as a solvent in the production of carrot oil. This would create an alternative source for carrot oil in addition to the currently allowed process that uses hexane, a liquid hydrocarbon derived from crude oil. The petition also proposes adding heavy-metal limits and secondary names for carrot oil.
The petitions align with FDA’s announcement in April 2025 that it would support an industry-led voluntary phase-out of synthetic colorants from the food supply and with the agency’s 2026 priorities, which include expediting review of new natural alternatives and continuing to guide industry on their development.
More highly processed foods may require bioengineered food disclosures following court ruling. In 2018, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued labeling regulations that exempted an estimated 70 to 80 percent of genetically modified materials from disclosure under the 2016 National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard when genetically modified material is undetectable after processing. On August 3, the US District Court for the Northern District of California issued a final decision, affirming a lower court’s 2025 ruling that highly refined ingredients may no longer be excluded from disclosure solely because modified genetic material is not detectable. The court held that USDA’s exemption for highly refined foods was arbitrary. The ruling stems from a 2020 lawsuit against USDA brought by the Center for Food Safety, which argued that the exemption allowed the vast majority of processed foods sold in grocery stores to avoid labeling requirements, thwarting consumers’ right to know. The court found unlawful USDA’s allowance of QR codes as a stand-alone means of disclosure compliance. As a result, USDA must revise its regulations by January 1, 2028, and the court rejected the agency’s request to extend the rulemaking deadline until 2029. More than 60 jurisdictions around the world, including China, the European Union, and Japan, require labeling of foods containing genetically modified components.
Litigation seeks to overturn 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines. A lawsuit filed on August 19 in the US District Court for the District of Columbia seeks to overturn the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs). In Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) v. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and United States Department of Agriculture, the plaintiff alleges that HHS and USDA departed from recommendations in the Scientific Report of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee when finalizing the Guidelines. The complaint alleges that the agencies assembled a separate group of reviewers to produce a report that substantially altered the advisory committee’s recommendations and ultimately informed the final DGAs. The plaintiff contends that the panel’s work was conducted through a non-public process that violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), which requires transparency and opportunities for public participation. It also states that HHS and USDA violated both FACA and the Administrative Procedure Act in developing the Guidelines. As relief, the plaintiff has asked the court to order HHS and USDA to withdraw the current DGAs, prohibit their use in future agency decision-making, and issue replacement guidelines developed through what it describes as a FACA-compliant public process. This case is in the earliest stages.
Proposed amendments to California Prop 65 “naturally occurring” exemption. California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has proposed amendments to the state’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1985, commonly nicknamed Prop 65, that would, among many other things, tighten the “naturally occurring” exemption currently allowed for foods, botanicals, and dietary supplements. At present, listed chemicals that are naturally occurring in foods do not require a Prop 65 warning label, provided the chemical’s presence did not result from human activity and the manufacturer has reduced the volume of the chemical to the lowest currently feasible level. Amendments to Prop 65’s section 25501 would expand the definition of human activity to include manufacturing that extracts or concentrates a listed chemical derived from any source, whether or not the process changes the chemical's Chemical Abstract Services registry number. This amendment would particularly affect products that are manufactured via extraction and concentration, such as herbal supplements containing botanical extracts or isolates; foods and drinks based on highly concentrated additives, such as syrups and juice concentrates; and products like essential oils and plant protein powders.
California begins phase-out of paraquat. On August 10, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) announced that “all manufacturers of pesticide products containing the active ingredient paraquat-dichloride (paraquat) have voluntarily cancelled their product registrations, beginning the phase-out of the use of paraquat in California.” California has historically been the largest user of the herbicide in the US. DPR initiated a re-evaluation of paraquat in November 2024. As part of the re-evaluation, companies that manufacture paraquat were required to develop and submit new scientific studies, by June 5, that would help the agency fully understand risks that may have been unknown at the time of registration. Rather than submit new scientific data, companies began voluntarily canceling their California registrations of paraquat products in April. The last registrant canceled on August 6. Paraquat has already been banned by more than 60 countries. In June, Vermont became the first US state to ban its use. As part of the phase-out, DPR-licensed dealers may continue to possess and sell paraquat for up to two years following the effective date of its cancellation.
Ground beef import tariffs to be temporarily lifted. On August 21, President Trump announced on Truth Social that the US will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef to be imported into the US for the next 90 days with no out-of-quota tariffs. The President stated in his post that the temporary lifting of the tariffs will “reduce prices for Americans while giving space for our Great American Beef Herd to grow again.” Beef prices in the US continue to hover near record highs – the latest data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis showed that the average price of ground beef is now at USD6.89 per pound, an increase of about 50 to 65 percent compared to August 2020 and about 80 percent compared to August 2016. A White House official said the President would sign an Executive Order to remove the tariffs within the next two weeks. A number of factors have contributed to the historically high price of beef in the US, among them the dwindling size of the US cattle herd, a multi-year drought, the rising cost of feed and operations, and restrictions on live cattle imports.
Moroccan phosphate fertilizer returns to US market. On August 14, approximately 54,000 metric tons of Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) fertilizer arrived at the Port of New Orleans, the first shipment of Moroccan phosphate fertilizer to enter the US market since 2021. The product’s return to the US marketplace follows President Trump’s June declaration of emergency and accompanying proclamation that authorized the temporary suspension of anti-dumping and countervailing duties (CVDs) on phosphate fertilizer imported from the Kingdom of Morocco. A USDA press release states, “The temporary suspension will increase phosphate fertilizer availability, improve competition, and help lower one of agriculture’s largest production expenses while supporting a stable and reliable fertilizer supply ahead of future planting seasons.” The President’s order suspending the CVDs will remain in effect for eight months unless it is terminated sooner.
Kennedy and Rollins announce Harvest to Hallways school nutrition initiative. On August 24, HHS Secretary Kennedy and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the Harvest to Hallways initiative. The initiative will provide up to USD70 million in funding to expand schools’ ability to procure locally grown foods and up to USD25 million in Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grants, as well as support for improvements to school cafeteria infrastructure. Harvest to Hallways expands on or restores prior administrations’ efforts: The Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grants were originally created in 2010 under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, and the Local Food for Schools and Local Food Purchase Assistance cooperative agreements, which helped schools and food banks buy locally grown foods, were originally created in 2021.
FDA investigation into cyclosporiasis outbreak continues. On August 13, FDA reported that best-by dates for the recalled Taylor Farms de Mexico lettuce linked to the most severe of the US cyclosporiasis outbreaks have passed, and product should no longer be available in stores or restaurants. FDA’s investigation into the outbreak remains ongoing. On August 25, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that it has received reports of 17,180 laboratory-confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis in the US. Of those, 10,930 cases are linked to iceberg lettuce grown by Taylor Farms; the remaining cases arise from at least six other clusters for which sources have not yet been confirmed. The only states that have not reported any cyclosporiasis cases this year are Hawaii, Montana, and New Mexico. CDC noted, “The true number of people sick with cyclosporiasis is likely higher than the number reported.” On August 14, Donald Prater, FDA’s Acting Deputy Commissioner for Food, confirmed that FDA inspectors had traveled to Taylor Farms’ operation in Mexico to inspect the processing facilities and fields in which the contaminated iceberg lettuce was grown. Prater stated that agricultural water is historically a potential source of contamination for cyclospora and that the FDA is “looking carefully at the available data to be able to understand what could have happened.” See our recent coverage of the cyclosporiasis outbreaks here.
New World Screwworm update.
- On August 24, the US cattle crossing gate at the border between Douglas, Arizona and Agua Prieta, Sonora re-opened to livestock imports from Mexico. A lengthy USDA social media post dated August 20 discussed the multi-tiered, “highly sophisticated system” the US and Mexico have put in place to address the New World Screwworm (NWS) outbreak that led to the border closure, including “the most complete entry inspection protocols possible… designed to protect American agriculture.” The post concluded, “These measures provide the assurance required to resume livestock trade while safeguarding animal health.” An estimated 700 head of cattle crossed into the US on re-opening day.
- The Douglas port was selected in part because NWS had not yet been detected in Sonora state. However, on August 19, Mexico's National Service for Agrifood Health, Safety and Quality (Servicio Nacional de Sanidad, Inocuidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria or SENASICA) confirmed a case of NWS in the far south of the state, nearly 300 miles from the US border. In Mexico, emergency surveillance, containment, and control protocols were immediately activated.
- Multiple veterinary drugs have received emergency use authorizations or conditional approvals to treat NWS infestations in mammals. USDA has set limits on the way those drugs can be used, generally including mandatory slaughter withdrawal periods as well as bans on use in dairy cattle that produce milk for human consumption and on calves that will be processed for veal. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recently announced that on September 1 it will begin stepping up its surveillance for such drugs at slaughter establishments. FSIS has also enhanced its analytic methods to better detect residues associated with those drugs.
Avian flu update. The H5N1 variant of avian influenza has returned to US poultry operations with an outbreak in a commercial turkey facility in South Dakota. Since H5N1 arrived in the US in February 2022, more than 81 million birds have been culled in that state, affecting 144 commercial operations and 31 backyard flocks. On August 21, South Dakota’s Department of Health released an advisory notice asking medical providers in the state to be alert for symptoms of H5N1 in people who might have been exposed to infected animals. Outbreaks of H5N1 in commercial poultry operations typically rise at this time of year as the fall migration begins.
