Food Import Detections and Seizures: The Current and Future Regulatory Environment

Why Should You Attend:

The increasing reliance of American consumers and manufacturers on the procurement of products from around the world poses serious challenges to those who work within the distribution system as well as to those who regulate it. As FDA works to convert from a reactive to a proactive surveillance system for overseeing food imports, those companies who most knowledgeably and effectively adjust to these changes will be the most successful.

This webinar, by a seasoned attorney, will discuss regulatory and enforcement issues surrounding the importation of food products. In addition to current federal regulations, guidelines and enforcement practices, we will also focus on those that may be pending. FDA’s current sampling, inspection detection and seizure programs will be reviewed, along with the agency’s on-going effort to implement the significant expansion of its authority and responsibility in this area as mandated by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The presenter will cover separate requirements for the meat and poultry imports as regulated by USDA. We will also discuss the broader implication of the import system contemplated under FSMA and as well as its practical impacts.

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• Current FDA Import Requirements
• Detections, Seizures and Other Enforcement Measures
• FSMA Requirements for Imported Foods
• FSMA’s Impact – Now and In the Future
• USDA’S Import System for Meat and Poultry

Who will Benefit:

This webinar will provide valuable assistance to all handlers of imported food and food ingredients, including brokers, distributors, manufacturers and food processors:

• Regulatory affairs
• Labeling
• Compliance
• Food technologists
• Food safety
• Food inspectors
• Marketing
• QA/ QC

Instructor Profile:

Robert G. Hibbert, J.D., is a partner in Morgan Lewis's FDA Practice. Mr. Hibbert focuses his practice on federal regulation of the food and agricultural industries, with an emphasis on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). He also advises clients with regard to food safety and security, animal health, biotechnology, labeling, advertising, and new product development.

Throughout his career, Mr. Hibbert has been involved with civil litigation in federal court, including several successful challenges to the scope of USDA jurisdiction and authority over various segments of the food processing industry, as well as administrative litigation in proceedings under statutes including the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act, the Packers and Stockyards Act, and the Perishable Commodities Act.

Mr. Hibbert has also represented growers and marketers of new transgenic crops, in addition to other companies, on labeling and advertising matters before USDA, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, and the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. He also provides counseling to and representation of companies involved in major food product recalls, labeling and advertising matters, and the marketing of new technologies designed to enhance food safety and security.

Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Mr. Hibbert was a partner in the food and drug practice of another international law firm, resident in Washington, D.C. He also formerly served as a senior attorney with the USDA, where he directed the standards and labeling staff, formulating policy in areas including food safety, product standards, and nutrition labeling. Mr. Hibbert is also the former vice president and general counsel for the American Meat Institute.

Mr. Hibbert earned his J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law in 1975, where he was a member of the American University Law Review. He earned his B.A. from Columbia College in 1972.

Mr. Hibbert is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Maryland and before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

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