Despite cyclosporiasis outbreak FDA looks to ease food requirements

The policy move comes months after an outbreak tied to imported lettuce hospitalized hundreds and sickened more than 27,000 people across 47 states

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As federal health officials work through the aftermath of a major Cyclospora outbreak, the Food and Drug Administration under the Trump administration is moving to ease food safety record-keeping requirements for thousands of smaller restaurants.

Yet despite those supply-chain tracking hurdles, the FDA is proposing to exempt food businesses generating between $250,000 and $1 million in annual food sales from detailed supply-chain tracking regulations, as reported by Restaurant Business Magazine.

Passed during the Obama administration under the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act, the traceability framework gives the federal government broader authority to mandate recalls and track contaminated ingredients back to their source during foodborne illness investigations.

Agency officials said that the proposed flexibility was not final and that additional adjustments remained under consideration.

The proposed rule comes amid several other regulatory shifts across the restaurant and food production sectors.

The system would track speeding, sidewalk riding above 4 mph and wrong-way travel on single-direction streets. Couriers receiving three notifications within seven days would be temporarily barred from accepting deliveries until completing a road safety course, and delivery apps would need to file quarterly safety reports with the city.

In food manufacturing, the FDA finalized a rule permitting producers to use sodium substitutes, including potassium chloride, yeast extracts or MSG, in standard food formulations that previously required table salt. Designed to support national efforts to reduce sodium consumption, the measure gives manufacturers more flexibility to reformulate packaged goods while offering restaurants expanded options for low-sodium menu items.

And in municipal infrastructure, Philadelphia unveiled two prototype outdoor dining enclosures at LOVE Park, developed by local design firms under Mayor Cherelle Parker’s PHL Open for Business initiative.